Best Game Controller ever – Update

i told you about this game controller here already, but it looks like there will be a Retail package ready for Xmas this year (at least in the US) and it will be compatible with PC, Xbox360 and PS3.

here is another video:

they will be taken pre-orders here, but I couldn’t find a price yet.

A New Kind of SLR Lens Filter

While browsing the web to find some inspiration for photos I came across the concept of the Bokeh Filter.

The Bokeh Filter is a simple filter that clips onto the end of your lens. This filter blocks out pieces of light that cause the bokeh (blur) in your images to take the shape of the filter.

Like stars and hearts:

check out the video:

The Bokeh Filter from The Bokeh Filter on Vimeo.

the official site is here

100 years of special effects in Movies

I just came back from watching District 9 at the movies and I loved it. I have to say the special effects impressed me the most, mainly because you can’t tell they are special effects at all. That massive spaceship that hovers over Johannesburg looks like its really there.

So when I came across this little compilation of special effects over the past 100 years of movies I just had to share it with you.

Enjoy.

Virtual Graffiti with WiiSpray

An experiment in using the Wii to spray on virtual graffiti, hence the WiiSpray. Nice idea and great exploration of the use of this kind of interaction with the projector.

It’s still an experiment, but may provide an alternative to trains, buses and seats hopefully.

And the techie bit: It uses a Wii but the actually graphics are built using Adobe Flash. Seems flash is becoming a great tool for experimenting with ideas and interfaces.

More information can be found at WiiSpray.

Write in any colour that you see (scan)

The Colour Picker pen by Korean designer Jinsu Park works just like the eyedropper tool in Photoshop. Use the rear end of the pen to scan the colour of the objects around you, and then pen imitates the colour by mixing red, green and blue ink, thus negating the need for an arsenal of crayons

Unfortunately you can’t buy this pen yet as it is still conceptual, but if it ever hits the market I know a few designers that will want to have one.

found here

Twinfluencers Experiment: Watching Australian and US Journalists, CEOs and Twitterati using Twitter

An experimental site, www.twinfluencers.com created by Amnesia Razorfish launched ‘softly’ today. It takes a live look into “influencers” and what they are saying on Twitter as it happens.

www.twinfluencers.com monitors US and Australian Journalists, Twitterati and CEO’s

What does Twinfluencers do?
Twinfluencers is a dashboard showing live tweets from Twitter users considered to be influencers within specific groups (Journalists, CEOs and Twitterati). Currently we are breaking these out into Australia and US regions.

FAQs:
So what’s the point?

Whilst there are many tools which track trends, hashtags from the masses this tool takes another angle and provides a peek at live information being generated from these influencer groups. You can jump in at any time without needing to be a Twitter user. It also saves you having to follow and segment the 900(ish) people that Twinfluencers is watching!

Why did we build Twinfluencers?
Firstly, we love doing experiments – the point is we’re not 100% certain of ‘what comes next’. Secondly, we’re of the school of thought that if we’re going to become better at working in social media then “doing stuff” is the way to go. Building the tool may prove useful or useless, but the mere act of building it allowed us to learn some new things. We might yield some insight and analytics that become usable -that would be a bonus. Finally– we couldn’t find a tool that produced what we wanted to see so decided to do it ourselves (although half way through build we found a similar tool muckrack.com for US journos which is actually very good).

What might the site do in the future?
The lists will be keep being compiled and updated. We may add other countries if the demand is there. It would be nice to see some historical data, trends etc from these groups. There are a few minor UI tweaks to be made. We’ve already been asked to do a celebs version, although we specifically avoided celebrities in this round. Alternatively – if we learn nothing or find something better to do then maybe it will just fade away

How many people are in the lists?
At time of writing, but being updated regularly at present;
Australian: Journalists (500) Twitterati (101) CEOs (30)
USA: Journalists (105) Twitterati (101) CEOs (30)

Where do the lists come from?
This was possibly one of the harder parts of the experiment and something we consider to be work in progress:

• Journalists: We received lots of help from Dave Earley (@earleyedition) in sourcing a very consolidated list of Australian Journalists. US Journalists came from a variety of public sources and some Razorfish US assistance – we also decided to limit the number down to about 100, compared with a much more expanded number of Australian Journalists.
• Twitterati: This was a slightly tougher list to quantify. In the end we based the list mainly by combining and filtering results from Grader, Retweetability index, Twinfluence, Twittercounter. We removed known ‘spammers’ or those using ‘follow agents’ to grow their count and occasionally factored in the start date of the account (earlier being better).
• CEOS: Various sources (some tips) including Laurel Papworth.

How can I get my hands on the full list of these groups?
Whilst we’re still in beta testing we’re not openly distributing. The plan is that if the site generates any ongoing interest we will open the lists up – initially to individuals who are willing to contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the lists, and then open to public. Please remember, keeping these lists up to date is quite a lot of hard work.

”How can I get on the list? ARrgh – I deserve to be there!”
Firstly – tweet something and wait a couple of minutes (there can be a delay before you see your tweet appear). Not there? Yes… We know how this works and of course there are people who should be on there who aren’t and vice versa. We’ll keep adding but we’re trying to make this less about the egos, more about a tool that offers some value that we can learn a little from. For those who believe they have been wronged (and we do not mean to wrong anyone) there are some instructions on the site at the bottom of the page to suggest follows, “but” we will apply the same filtering and vague scrutiny to try to keep a balance.

Art & Copy

SYNOPSIS

ART & COPY is a powerful new film about advertising and inspiration. Directed by Doug Pray (SURFWISE, SCRATCH, HYPE!), it reveals the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry. Exploding forth from advertising’s "creative revolution" of the 1960s, these artists and writers all brought a surprisingly rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation: George Lois, Mary Wells, Dan Wieden, Lee Clow, Hal Riney and others featured in ART & COPY were responsible for "Just Do It," "I Love NY," "Where’s the Beef?," "Got Milk," "Think Different," and brilliant campaigns for everything from cars to presidents. They managed to grab the attention of millions and truly move them. Visually interwoven with their stories, TV satellites are launched, billboards are erected, and the social and cultural impact of their ads are brought to light in this dynamic exploration of art, commerce, and human emotion.

Official site

Via Swiss Miss

The new Xbox Mini

Don’t get too excited its actually not new.

I came across this 6 month DIY project where a guy, who calls himself ghostavel, spend all his time taking the old Xbox and creating his own mini case for it.

And I have to say it looks awesome.

Dimensions:
23.5 x 21.65 x 2.5 cm

I reckon the next gen Xbox should have a form factor like that.

Wikipedia approaches its limits

Most of us (internet users) use Wikipedia everyday, weather it’s for work, school, or personal development. It’s a valuable resource for all, young and old.

Recently the Guardian wrote an article about how Wikipedia became one of the biggest repositries of knowledge and what’s install for it’s future.

Personally I think Wikipedia is great but I often wonder: Is Wikipedia’s future bright? Or will it be superseded? How will it change? Is the user experience built to last?

“The online encyclopedia is about to hit 3m articles in English – but growth is stalling as ‘inclusionists’ and ‘deletionists’ fight for control.”

Read more here…

Via Guardian.co.uk

Visualising all those billions

The talented visualisers at Information is Beautiful have created The Billion Dollar Gram.

It’s an attempt to help all of us wrap our heads around the obscenely large numbers thrown around the news of the world.

“Billions spent on this. Billions spent on that. What does it all look like?”

http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/the-billion-dollar-gram/

You’ll need the full size view to read the labels: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/the-billion-dollar-gram/

@iclazie

Greetings, aliens!

The inhabitants of what might be Earth’s nearest ‘waterworld’ may well be scratching their heads in twenty years time, as a barrage of 160-character messages from enthusiastic Earthlings bombard their airwaves. Twenty years is just about how long it will take the messages to reach the enormous Gliese 581d, travelling at light speed from the Canberra Deep Space Communication Complex with the cooperation of NASA, and it’ll be another twenty years before we can get a reply. That is, of course, if the aliens of Gliese (Gliesians?) exist, have the technology to receive the messages, and speak English.

Hellofromearth.net is the brainchild of Cosmos Magazine’s Wilson da Silva, and was set up as part of Australia’s National Science Week. You can read others’ messages, or add your own (English only, please, and nothing inappropriate!) at the site. The short missives (well into their thousands) so far include the serious, the witty, quotes from Monty Python and Oscar Wilde, and my favourite so far:

“MY AIM OF CONTACTING YOU IS TO SEEK YOUR ASSISTANCE IN TRANSFERRING THE SUM OF THIRTY FIVE MILLION U.S.DOLLARS OUT OF NIGERIA AND INTO YOUR TRUSTED BANK ABROAD.”

http://hellofromearth.net/

Patrick Runte – Jump ‘n’ Run

Hamburg-based photographer Patrick Runte recreates scenes from classic videos games in his Jump ‘n’ Run series. Pacman, Space Invaders, Pong, and more are all composed in real life situations where Runte has set up beautiful (and accurate!) depictions of the video games. Runte offers the following explanation: “The work is inspired by Oskar Schlemmer and his idea of the ‘Triadic Ballett’ and the term ‘Streetplay’”, Runte explains. “I wanted to compile old video games, which are based on simple geometric forms and make them able to be experienced / felt by the human body.”

More samples here
Via format mag

Visualising Australian Web Traffic

A great visualisation tool highlighting the top ranking Australian website statistics (here) built for Neilsen and AIMIA by the interaction consortium. It’s not only a much more usable interface for getting a grip on trends and traffic, but it also gives some interesting insight into how quickly the digital landscape shifts and how those of us in the industry must continue to adapt and innovate. Pretty (and functional) work. 

http://avant.interactionconsortium.com/australian_internet/#

Posted By @eunmac

A touch-sensitive keyboard – with some practical applications

Microsoft have demoed a touch-sensitive keyboard along with some pretty sweet practical applications for it. It can be used to detect accidental keystrokes, and they’re hoping to use it in games to lessen reliance on modifier keys. Check it out:

From ArsTechnica

Rhonda beta

Some years in the making, this 3d line drawing tool looks pretty amazing. Click on the image or view the video here.

Illustration by James Patterson, software developed by Amit Pitaru.

Via QBN

Touch my holograms

Reading engadget tonight and came across this pretty cool project from the University of Tokyo.

The project, called Touchable Holography, involves the use of Wiimotes placed above the display to track hand motion, and an airborne ultrasound tactile display created in the university’s lab to create the sensation of touch. The result is a holographic image that produces tactile feedback without any actual touching, and without degrading the image itself.

But don’t take my word for it – check it out here

this is sooo cool

A glimpse into a great artist’s inspiration

Gerhard Richter’s comprehensive reference library, the Atlas Collection, can be seen online at www.gerhard-richter.com.

 

The Atlas: http://www.gerhard-richter.com/art/atlas/

The site also has an extensive gallery of his paintings…

   

@iclazie

Sour Japanese Music Video does it with Webcams

This breathtaking video was made by coordinating dozens of fans of the Japanese music group Sour. The only way I can think of describing it is “webcam synchronised swimming”. Watch it. It is pure genius.

Posted by @eunmac

Check out Bing today

Jeremy’s winning photo is the face of Bing today. Congratulations, Mr Somers!

Check it out today only: www.bing.com

Read more about how it got here: http://amnesiablog.wordpress.com/2009/07/24/vote-for-jeremys-photo-in-the-bing-summer-travel-photo-contest/

@iclazie

Sydney Design Festival 2009

Wow! Sydney Design Week 2009 is jam packed with more things to do than ever. Exhibitions, markets, late night events, tours, workshops, talks, educational resources and sooo much more to do, it’s designed to engage and inspire.

The diverse program runs over 16 days from 1 to 16 August 2009. Highlights at the festival’s main precinct, the Powerhouse Museum, include Eat Green Design, Young Blood: Designers Market, Australian International Design Awards exhibition, late night event Play Late, and the Design Underground tours.

Sydney Design 09 extends all over the city too, with more than 70 events and 35 venues around Sydney.

If you attend today’s “How Can Graphic Design Help Save The Planet?” please let me know, I’d love to hear about it. I’m at work right now, so feel free to post your comments.

Enjoy!