Monthly Archives: May 2012

RYNO Single Wheel Scooter

RYNO Motors‘ single-wheeled electric scooter looks like it stepped right out of some comic book fantasy world.

It’s self-balancing, and has a turning radius of zero when stopped, and only takes up about as much space as a folding bicycle — so it’s conceivable that commuters could bring one onto a train.

However, the RYNO’s maximum range is only 20 miles between charges, and although its top speed is 25mph, its limited to 12.5 mph to keep the RYNO scooter within the more relaxed legal boundaries of “personal mobility scooters”.

With an expected release date of January 2013 and an MSRP of $4,500, the RYNO scooter could be a compelling last-mile option for urban commuters, or live-work environments like here in Celebration FL. That is, if consumers think the RYNO is cooler than a Segway.

Would you want to be seen riding one?

Edible Cookbook

Speaking of cool books (see my last post), the German design studio Korefe created a cookbook you can actually eat.

The real cookbook is made with 100% fresh pasta. It can be opened, filled with ingredients and finally cooked to make lasagna. I don’t eat much lasagna, but even I can’t deny the power of this well-designed, informative pasta. Korefe has a fun, inventive food packaging design portfolio, so be sure to check them out.

Printing Powered By The Sun

Remember writing secret messages with lemon juice as a kid? Heat would cause a reaction that made the writing visible. Very cool.

This equally cool annual report doesn’t use lemon juice. Instead it uses a sunlight activated ink which reveals the content in direct sunlight.

This annual report for Verband Austria was created by Serviceplan Munich to document how solar energy powers Austria, giving the effect meaning beyond the cool factor.

Facebook Launches App Center

Facebook has launched an App Center (Beta) that centralizes existing apps and allows app developers to publish new ones to over half a billion users. Think Apple App Store or Google Play.

App Center will also offer an iOS app, using a layout comparable to Apple’s App Store.

Successful ecosystems can be big wins for the platform, developers, brands and users. Facebook must recognize this, because for the first time, Facebook is also allowing developers to charge for their apps, encouraging better quality and diversity.

Apps like Draw Something, that bake in social interactions have found great success. I believe Facebook could have a very strong ecosystem and this is a great step toward that.

In this beta phase, developers can create and lay out their app’s detail page within the App Center (see example above) using predetermined guidelines. If you’re really fast and submit a finished layout before May 18, your app will be listed with higher priority when App Center launches. The submitted apps are checked and controlled with fixed quality perceptions in mind, and if they get approved, they’ll be available at the initial launch of App Center — Facebook didn’t specify a fixed launch date though.

Additionally, there’s a new feature added to their statistics app Insights: it’s a user feedback monitoring tool that uses a new, visual app ratings metric (see image below).

Anxious to get started? Visit the new App Center tab on the developer website to create your app’s detail page.

Freeze Yourself In Carbonite

Everyone remembers that iconic scene when Han Solo is frozen in carbonite by Darth Vader. Now you can step into a “carbon freezing chamber” which uses state-of-the-art imaging technology to create a 3D model of your face. Then that image is used to replace Han’s face in an 8-inch die-cast model of you frozen in carbonite.

It’ll cost you $99.95(USD) if you want one, and that also includes a commemorative LED Carbon “Freeze Me” wristband. Additional 3D figurines can be ordered for $74.95 each. Carbon Freeze Me will be on hand for four weekends starting on May 18th, 2012 at Walt Disney World’s Hollywood Studios. You must reserve a spot in advance by calling 407-WDW-TECH, and placing a credit card deposit.

The Avengers Ending Sequence

I’d begin by telling you to rush out and see this fantastic film, but apparently everyone already has. The film is full of amazing details. I’ll have to watch it a few more times to catch all of them.

One detail I didn’t miss was the beautiful and simple ending sequence created by Method Studios. It features close up shots of The Avengers’ costumes, showing off exquisite detail. As the focus changes you can see every scuff, chip and dent. The 11 year old inside of me can’t help but stand up and cheer!

Liquidmetal iPhone 5 Concept

With the WWDC just around the corner, the rumor mill is starting its frenzy of wild guesses on what the iPhone 5 might have in store for us. One such rumor suggests that Apple will use Liquidmetal alloys in the upcoming iPhone, making it thinner, lighter and more resistant to impact damage.

Apple purchased worldwide exclusive rights to use Liquidmetal in April of last year, so this rumor is actually plausible.

Liquidmetal alloys are named after the feel of the material, which is smooth and liquid-like. It’s over twice as strong as titanium and has a shape memory that allows it to retain its original shape after very high loads of stress. But most impressive is how resistant Liquidmetal is to corrosion and wear.

Antoine Brieux created these renders of what a Liquidmetal iPhone might look like. While it lacks the refinement we see from Jonathan Ive, and there is no way the next iPhone will nix the physical home button for a virtual one, it’s still beautiful.

Safety Pin USB Drive

I own a handful of USB drives but never seem to have one when I need one. This cute concept using the classic safety pin aims to fix that problem. Not exactly how I imagined wearable data would materialize, but it’s fun.

 Scroll to top