Lifestyle posts

Let me tell you about my rig. Seriously. Grab your milk and cookies, find a spot on the carpet, and let me tell you all about my rig. My rig’s a Mac Pro, Xeon Quadcore x2 with dual crossfired Radeon 4870s and 12 sweet gigs of RAM. My rig dual-boots to Windows 7. My rig runs Photoshop like a piece of goddam paper. My …mousepad is made of… I dunno, like, felt or something. My rig is a sissy girl. If Greensforged knows one thing, it’s that steel is awesome. Hell, it’s the first thing they declare on their website. And they offer the only thing that can truly make my rig truly manly – solid steel mousepads. Unnecessary?…

Sometimes, it’s a little hard to listen to dry, good-for-you messages about environmentalism. But a robot? That’s cute? Where I do start recycling?! That seems to be the idea behind the concept ‘Plant-O-Bot’, a robot that gains energy from the plants that it stores in its own body. The adorable little thing has an energy meter on the front that lets you know how the robot is doing: green and it and its plants are doing fine; red, and both the Plant-O-Bot and its green friends aren’t doing so hot. Designed by Bharoto Yekti, the concept aims to work as a kind of ‘living’ metaphor for our relationship to…

Who amongst us, the cognoscenti and intelligentsia of the world, hasn’t dreamed of doing something as incredible, sweeping and artful as melting a door with a lightsaber? Fine, maybe that’s a dream limited to a few basement-dwelling nerds. But at least we now have bookends for our dreams! (Ooh, unintentional puns FTW!) New to the Star Wars shop is a pair of bookends that display what it might look like to have a lightsaber piercing through your collection of books, comics or DVDs. Dedicated fans will note, of course, that the lightsaber blade (which lights up) is red, meaning that it probably belongs…

Chiptunes – that genre of music that takes classic tracks and then covers them using 8-bit video game sounds – has always been a bit controversial. Some geeks love the retro-tech aesthetic, while others find it sacrilege to take the treasured music of their youth and turn into bleeps and blips. Well, if you’ve never heard of it before, now’s your time to judege, as someone named ‘rainwarrior’ has created an 8-bit cover of Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon. It’s a discombobulating experience, but if you too grew up playing Nintendo, Sega Master System – maybe even Turbografx 16 – you might find the use…

3D Printing has always been a bit of a confusing concept. It’s always seemed a bit befuddling to think that 3D objects – things you can pick up and hold and use – could be printed in the same way that a document or photo are. All that said – who cares? Look! Shiny jewelery! The Goncalo Campos Camion collection is a set of stainless-steel pieces that have been created using a 3D printer. The jewelery is quite unique in that the printing process leaves a rough, distinctive texture on the steel, which also means that it’s not only pretty, but very tough too. The pieces display a spare design, and seem perfect…

Those of you are fans of both letter-writing and Samuel Beckett-like absurdity are really going to like this: Google Envelopes is a concept that would allow you to send snail mail from within GMail. Designed by Rahul Mahtani & Yofred Moik, the idea is to put an extra button into GMail that would let you send an actual printed letter from within the email service. What’s more, the envelope will be printed with a route from Google Maps, tracing how the letter got to you, which is charming personalized touch. While the idea is definitely impractical, it does remind one of how much effort used to go…

Well it’s difficult to imagine what might go wrong this idea. Unvarnished, which today launched into a private beta, is a new service that lets people leave anonymous reviews of you. Yep. Anonymous reviews. About you! Fun! In theory, the site is meant to be a sort-of open version of Linked-In where anyone can post a review of you (in whatever capacity) and you, if you like, can claim your profile. Site founder Pete Kasanjy argues that anonymity is crucial to the system because, instead of the glowing recommendations of Linked-In, you’ll get real, honest feedback on a person. With the need to appear…

Chatroulette. What can be said about this social media sensation that is gaining huge exposure? It is a fascinating piece of Web-based software that connects you to a total stranger for a one-on-one video/audio conversation — it is really that simple. If you are one of those who have tried Chatroulette, you are probably aware of the fun that can be had with such an application. However, you are probably just as aware about the pitfalls as well: There are people out there (a disturbingly high amount) who lack common sense, courtesy, and social skills, and Chatroulette is a medium that seemingly…

As we sit back and watch Apple slowly try and take over the world, it doesn’t help that application developers are quickly assisting their efforts. I’ll make a prediction that in ten years time, somehow the iPhone will be able to drive your car. This way you can sit at home, drive your new Apple electric car to the Apple grocery store, have an Apple grocery store employee fill your car with food, and drive it back home. All while watching Apple TV through your MacBook. Does it seem far fetched? Who knows, but five years ago, I didn’t think I would be able to control my household electronics with my cell phone….

As reported yesterday on Entertainment Daily, a copy of the 1938 edition of Action Comis No. 1 featuring Superman’s debut sold for 1.5 million dollars at an auction. They wouldn’t reveal the name of the comic book fan who purchased the copy, but I’m assuming we may have a good idea who will be appearing in the next X-Men movie. If you have deep pockets you can bid on the chance to win a walk-on roll and have yourself featured in the movie. Good idea? I’m assuming that the role will be extremely limited but all proceeds will go to the Worldwide Orphans Foundation. If you want to bid on this amazing opportunity,…