Zipcar Mobile - Part 2Mobile

It makes me happy when a truly useful app comes out. This one is an official Zipcar iPhone app that uses your iPhone's GPS, and it will even beep the horn of the reserved Zipcar and unlock it!

I am very excited about this– I even wrote
another post about Zipcar for mobile a while ago.

To see a demo, check out this CNET video >

You can sign up to get an alert when it launches

Thanks to Springwise for the good news. (the image above is from them too)

Full Body Motion Capture - HD Project Natal

HD Project Natal Trailer - 3D MOTION SENSING
Amazing potential for new kinds of interaction!
Controller-free entertainment....

I love Swiss Miss

I don't know how she finds all this great stuff!

http://www.swiss-miss.com/

She's cute too, check out this photo in an article about her. I'm lucky I got to work with her a bit at Smart Design and C&G!

Art VS Design

This looks like a fun opportunity:

http://www.artistswanted.org
Deadline May 31st @ 11:59 PM.

An international Open Call for Unique Talent
Details & Submissions >

Images are power. In this dynamic era compelling design can move millions and transcendent art can inspire a generation. From cave paintings of early man to today's industrial designers, art & design has uniquely shaped the world around us, each in its own distinct way. This contest is designed to answer the age old question: What shapes our world more, art or design?

Join thousands of creative people in this visual dialogue.

Mark Mothersbaugh, acclaimed artist and lead singer of art-rock band DEVO leads a panel of judges including Jarrett Gregory (curator at NYC's New Museum) and Donwan Harrell (founder and creative director of Akademiks clothing) in selecting the top artist or designer to be featured at a gala reception at the New Museum in June. The public also plays judge - determining the most powerful medium of the moment - in an online face-off that pits art submissions against design submissions.

Opportunities will be created for everyone who participates and we are awarding over $11,000 in prizes.

Grand Prize & Student winner will be awarded with:

* A gala reception at the New Museum in New York City
* $2009 cash grant
* International Publicity, including a feature in Filter Magazine and work shown through Gawker Artists exposing the winners art or design to hundreds of thousands of visitors across 190+ website galleries
* $500 in gear from Akademiks
* Plus the Red Bull Prize: Offering a choice of: A vintage Vespa OR a trip to London to visit the Tate Museum and the Design Museum OR a fully loaded Mac Book Pro


Every participant gets:

* An online portfolio and international exposure
* A $70 "Thank You" package with gear and discounts to help further your work


Registration is open now and continues through Midnight May 31st.
Details: http://www.artistswanted.org/

Art VS Design was put together by a handful of Brooklyn based artists and designers who have experienced first-hand the difficulties of achieving national attention. We believe both Art & Design hold a powerful place in our society and it is our intention to break-out new talent through a process that is dynamic and open-ended.

Deadline: May 31st @11:59 PM

Testing "GoodReads" - Frank Lloyd Wright

Loving Frank: A Novel by Nancy Horan

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I was so shocked by the ending that I read the cover, the reviews, the bio...looking for some reason...I didn't want it to end that way. At first I thought it was a cheap ending, like she didn't know what to do to end the book and so resorted to this...but then I found out it was true (ish)!

This book is full of beautiful moments, and is insightfully written, but some things about the main character's personality irked me. I wouldn't have made the same choices in some parts. The whole thing about breaking free from her family was all fine, but from her children? Selfish. The author, Nancy, does let us know Mamah felt guilty about it, but I still find it hard to believe... And then instead of following her own dream or writing, she was only following Frank, really. Or translating other peoples' work.

I would say I have mixed feelings about the book -- I suppose one sign that it is impeccably written is that the mixed feelings I have are about the characters themselves! I alternate between getting mad at them, and feeling sympathy for them, and ultimately sorrow. (I get so mad at Frank and Mamah! Then sometimes I love them. I guess that means the author did a good job!)

If you begin this book expecting to learn about architecture, you may find yourself disappointed but ultimately you will remember it for its portrayal of the struggle for happiness its two main characters went through...you will definitely not forget it!

I had trouble giving this book 3 stars, I am conflicted between whether it deserves 5 or 2. You'll see what I mean.


View all my reviews.

New Sony MMORP has "something for everyone"

Free Realms, the new MMORPG from Sony, gets a good review in the NYT...

--downloadable from the website
--geared as much to children as to adults
--"refreshing palate-cleanser" after proliferation of WOW-like games
--graphics don't force you to upgrade your machine to play
--free to play
--if you pay $4.99/month, you get premium features:


Unfortunately only for Windows PCs right now, so I couldn't try it first-hand.

check it out >

high-res images >

see the video:

Funny Twitter Cartoons

via webdesignerdepot via Twine

Cool Rug

Little Field of Flowers by Tord Boontje (via Moss)

Cute Munny Video

Munny, the world's cutest do-it-yourself bunny toy has a cute video.
check it out:

MUNNY Sprouts! from Kidrobot on Vimeo.

Fantastic Review of Different Footer Ideas

tons of examples and inspirations for well-designed and dynamic footers.

check it out >
(from webair.it)

Bucky Balls!

I don't know how these amazing magnetic things work -- like how do they not repel each other sometimes too? They look super-cool and I want to get my hands on some....

United Nations Climate Change Conference to be Hosted in Copenhagen in 2009

check out the site:
United Nations Climate Change Conference is happening in Copenhagen in 2009, on December 7-18

The website is full of interesting articles. Check out some of the things Denmark is doing for climate change.

I have no idea why the conference is called COP15 though!

New Apple Browser Users Cover Flow!

Photo credit: Apple Insider

check out the article on appleinsider.com

Thanks to Diego for the link!

Cool Shop Interface, and the Products are Cool Too!

Shop Composition uses a cool horizontal sliding interface that's really fun to navigate and shows off the products in context with other content. Plus, this watch was cool. Also, I want all the laptop bags, but I don't have enough laptops to justify getting them.
check it out >

I LEGO NY

Awesome use of LEGO bricks!

From the NYT's Niemann's blog >
more on christophniemann.com >

Giant Ant Metropolis

A Giant Metropolis of tunnels and chambers built by ants is uncovered!

Thanks to Lian, Naacal for the link.

Dresses made of bacteria and inflatable suits sensitive to sound

And dresses made of fungus too!

http://www.rte.ie/news/2008/0424/6news_av.html?2366252,null,230

All at the Dublin Science Gallery's TechoThreads exhibit last April (2008)


pictured here: Front, by Jessica Findley, Ralph Borland, and Margot Jacobs

(more info on Front in this cool interview with Jessica)

What I want for Christmas :)

The Loco Roco PS3 game is the cutest thing I've ever seen.


also, I found a flash demo of it online: http://www.games.co.uk/game/LocoRoco2.html

Parental Controls for Games

photo courtesy of wujimon via google image search

World of Warcraft has taken parental micro-management to a new level. And I think I like it! Their parental controls allow you to set how many hours per day and on which days your kids can play the game.

Apple's 3G iPhone Ad has been BANNED in the UK!

(photo from the BBC)
Apparently because it exaggerated the speed of the new 3G iPhones, claiming the new 3G model was "really fast" and showed it loading internet pages in under a second, which as anyone who owns one knows, never happens.

People were misled into buying it based on its performance in the ad. It makes me happy because I hate false advertising, and really they get away with murder sometimes. Recently, for example, I bought a screen-capturing software. On the website they showed a "demo" of the software, where everything was moving smoothly at about 30 frames per second, but the software I bought only worked at 10fps. The people who make the software said they wouldn't give me my money back, saying "we never said we used OUR software to make the demo"

Does that make sense to you?

Cities in the Sea

I've been revisiting the work of Jacque Fresco lately. I'm amazed at how forward-thinking it is. Photos are from thevenusproject.com - please check there for credits.

From their site:

Off Shore Living

Offshore apartment buildings of concrete, steel, glass, titanium, and a wide variety of new synthetic materials could be built to relieve the population pressure in areas like Hong Kong, Tokyo, Los Angeles, and New York. The materials used in such projects would be engineered to withstand the corrosive effects of the harsh ocean environment.

A global system of these structures can easily accommodate many millions of people and relieve the land based population pressures. They can provide the inhabitants with information and serve as natural sea aquariums without artificially enclosing marine life.

Many of these cities may serve as oceanographic universities that maintain the ecological balance of marine systems. Other ocean cities will maintain sea farms that will cultivate many forms of marine life. They could also be used as a new resource for mining the relatively untapped resources of the oceans without disturbing its ecology. Still others may monitor and maintain environmental equilibrium and reclaim dangerous radioactive and other pollutant materials that have been dumped into the sea.

After construction, these structures can be towed to various locations where they would be most beneficial, then anchored to the ocean floor. Some structures will be towed in prefabricated segments and then joined together at selected locations. Their internal construction will include floatation chambers which will render them practically unsinkable. They can be self maintained and fully automated
Check out the Venus Project for more info.