William Shatner Releases ‘Shatoetry’ iPhone App
“I wanted to give people a means to express their thoughts and ideas, using my voice.
See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/william-shatners-shatoetry-iphone-app-385290
Disney’s 3D-Printed Princesses, Interactive Cakes, and Other Maker Technology
[Philip Lelyveld comment: cool use of 3D printers, IR-activated LEDs, and CAD-designed balloons at Disney parks. Watch the videos.]
Once upon a time, Walt Disney decided he wanted to do more than animation — he wanted to elevate amusement parks to an art form and create utopian cities. Instead of leaving his burgeoning cartoon studio to chase this new dream, he spun off a small skunkworks team in 1952 called Walt Disney Imagineering (WDI), that went on to develop robotic-president animatronics, theme parks, and other technological wonders.
But more important than any of their individual innovations, WDI left an imprint on the organization that leads Imagineers to continuously seek ways to use technology in the service of stories. Fast forward to 2012, and Disney’s research group now has six offices across the world, from Burbank to Zurich, releasing commercial projects and academic papers at a pace that would make the Seven Dwarves proud. We’ve poured over their output and found a few of the newest, coolest ones.
Disney D-Tech 3D-Printed Princess Figurines
Disney is helping push ordinary girls to become princesses with the aid of photo scanners and 3-D printers. Starting at $99.95, this 3-D printed tchotchke will hit the royal coffers hard (but not as much as this similarly gender-demarcating $1400 bejeweled Ariel figurine). The plaster princesses are at Disney’s theme parks in Orlando for a limited time. But, as Walt Disney World is the most visited tourist location in the U.S., with over 17 million visitors per year, even slow sales will expose millions of eager minds (and wallets) to 3D-printing technology.
See the full story here: http://www.wired.com/design/2012/08/disneys-3d-printed-princesses-interactive-cakes-and-other-maker-technology/
Not Your Average 3D Résumé…
How much does your résumé stand out from the others in the pile? Probably not as much as this one.
Mohit Lakhmani — art director, paper sculptor, and 3D graphics artist — is the creator of the best infographic résumé I have yet to see. Bonus: it’s 3D!
See the full story here: http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericaswallow/2012/08/02/3d-infographic-resume/
Comic-Con: Roger Corman Forced to Bring Bare Breasts to ATTACK OF THE 50 FOOT CHEERLEADER in 3D
Roger Corman, known for producing over 400 movies over the span of 60 years, most of them schlocky B movies and creature features, was at Comic-Con schilling his new 3D film for Epix, Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader. If you like Corman, boobs and 3D, this is the film for you.
Read the full story here: http://collider.com/roger-corman-attack-50-foot-cheerleader-interview-comic-con/180741/
Choreographed metal rain 3D display
Singapore's Changi Airport commissioned German "new media" firm ART+COM to design an art installation for their Departure Hall for Terminal 1. What they came up with is "Kinetic Rain," this gorgeous, CNC-controlled moving sculpture made from 608 copper-clad aluminum raindrops suspended from the ceiling.
See the full story with video here: http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/choreographed_metal_rain_would_make_an_awesome_3d_display_22871.asp
Perfume-puffing robot sniffs out social media mentions
The old saying that your ears go red when people are talking about you is getting a 21st Century update.
Now your nose can tell you when you are being talked about on social networks thanks to a net-connected robot.
Called Olly, the robot watches the millions of messages passing through social networks and spots when its owner is mentioned. ...
Olly (short for olfactory) has gone through several versions since its initial design. The latest plans are for a gadget much smaller than the original. ...
Once finished, Olly can keep an eye on Twitter, Facebook or almost any other online account. The software that controls Olly can be tuned to emit a puff of perfume for a few different types of online interaction such as a retweet, posting a comment, a mention by name or a specific text search. ...
See the full story here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18059740
Kickstarter Project Turns The iPad Into Apple’s First Touchscreen Laptop
WITH $400,000 RAISED ALREADY, YET ANOTHER PRODUCT CREATES A COMPANY OVERNIGHT.
...
It’s a clip-on iPad keyboard with a milled aluminum chassis and integrated speaker that ostensibly converts the iPad into a MacBook. ...
Apprently there is some room in the market for that premium keyboard. In a week, Brydge raised over $400,000, promising units at an introductory price of $150 (about the same cost as a refurbished Kindle Fire). ...
See the full story here: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1669671/kickstarter-project-turns-the-ipad-into-apples-first-touchscreen-laptop
ACE – the Advances in Computer Entertainment Conference
For those looking to justify a business trip to Nepal, this is for you!
ACE 2012 home page http://www.ace2012.info/
