starting off the Tuesday with the best invention since sliced bread. OK, maybe not, but it is still pretty cool
Introducing the Popinator, a popcorn distribution machine that is voice activated. Simply say Pop and it will shoot a single popped corn in your direction and you can “easily” catch it with your mouth.
The Popinator
A binaural microphone array on the machine’s front listens for a clear “pop” voice command, determines where the command came from and shoots.
See it in action in the video below
There is no word on if this machine will ever see the day of light for all of us to acquire, but this is what the creating company (Popcorn, Indiana) had to say:
“All we have to say is: it is a work in progress right now. We certainly hope that one day it will become a commercial project, but as of now there is no shipping date and no price tag. It is purely a fun internal project we are toying with here at Popcorn Indiana. Based on the very positive responses we are getting online, we think this is well worth looking into as a commercial product.”
I really hope it does and I will install one in the office next to my desk.
I had to Google translate it from Swedish but still reads well… (article from the agencies blog).
“Sweden’s safest hands”, is a contest in the iPhone, which is organised by the Post. The contest is part of a larger e-commerce campaign that is about to record is the safer choice when you send your packages.
The contest is to carry a digital package a certain distance using an iPhone app. This applies to transport package is as safe and secure as the Post.
42 packages have been packed with secret content to a value between 300 and 5000 dollars. Every day at 6, 12 and 18 released a new package. Do you deliver the package intact before anyone else, you win the contents. You decide where to begin and end, so it does not matter where you live in Sweden.
Don’t have a smartphone, iPad or Android tablet? But you do want to play this “Angry Birds” thing that people keep talking about?
Chrome to the rescue!
The folk over at Rovio have ported their smashingly popular game to the Chrome browser, and it’s 100% built in HTML5. Very, very neat.
If you haven’t given this simple physics based bird-hurler a whirl, why not see what all the fuss is about? Won’t cost you a dime, and is playable in both standard and high definition.
Either click the picture above, or this link, and you’ll go straight there. Enjoy!
I just had a rather interesting experience with a guy from Vodafone Australia looking after the Android Man Social Media comp. The problem – I tried to enter with a photo of Android Man and an iphone:
I went down to checkout Vodafone Australia’s Android Man competition. The game: locate Android Man from his cryptic tweets, take a creative photograph, upload it to facebook and you could win a HTC Desire HD.
My idea for the ‘creative photograph’ was to give Android Man my iphone in the hope that he would give me a shiny new HTC Desire HD in return. However, after I took the shot I was approached and encouraged to delete the shot. The conversation went something like this:
Vodaman: “You can’t take a photograph of Android Man and an iPhone”
Me: “Why not? The competition is take a creative photo. That’s creative”
Vodaman: “I want you to delete the photo of Android Man and the iPhone”
Me: “Sorry mate, it’s user generated content, social media, my phone, my picture and a public space”
Vodaman: “Delete the photo or I can help delete it for you”
Me: “Seeing as you put it so nicely … Sorry I’m not deleting it”
Vodaman: “Look if you upload Android Man and the iphone to the Vodafone AU facebook group it will be removed and you won’t win the competition”
Me: “Fair enough … You know. You sometimes see dolphins here some times. Seriously. I’ve seen one once.”
Vodaman: “Just one?”
Me: “Just once. It was looking for something.”
Vodaman: “Maybe some food?”
Me: “Yeah maybe”
I love social media competitions like this. In fact I helped create The Smirnoff Secret Party Treasure Hunt a few years ago. However, this incident highlights just how important it is that everyone from the ground up is aware of just how transparent social media is. Your people are your brand and they need to know that everything they say and do can be repeated and tweeted and be the make and break of such campaigns.
We love unboxing gadgets! …and the AR Drone from Parrot is GREAT fun. The Drone is controlled via an iPhone app which works by tilting your phone to steer whilst viewing a live video feed through a camera mounted in the Drone. It’s a truly usable Augmented Reality device.
How to buy in Australia: We ordered it from Amazon.com. It took 3 days to be delivered to Sydney from the US and cost just under $350.00 AUD including delivery.
So here it is the unboxing through to a test flight…
Amazon delivers it in a HUGE box…
Slightly smaller, but still big box inside…
The Drone is neatly packed surrounded by protective cardboard.
No unwrapping necessary. It pops straight out. Nothing to assamble.
Battery, battery pack and stickers for the external shell.
It comes with the outdoor shell, and adaptors for Au, UK, US, EU.
Below: Unboxed looking at home in the studio…
Below: @bradyohalloran takes an instagram photo of the AR Drone:
Below: Flight Test: This a video taken from the Drone’s camera in the studio.
Below: We do like the idea of attaching a GoPro camera to the Drone to attain HD video – here’s a nice clip of someone flying the drone pretty high… (you can unlock the altitude sensor in the iphone app allowing you to go up as hi as the wifi lets you).
Below: The Promo Vid for the AR Drone.
Things you should know before you buy:
You get one battery that lasts for about 15 mins flying time. Charger comes with four adaptors incl AUS, UK, US, EU. You need an iphone or ipod touch to control it. You don’t need a wifi network (the Drone creates one). It takes about 5-10 mins to get to grips with the controls. You need a seperate app to record video. Onboard Video is 15fps There is a secondary camera on the bottom of the Drone. You need 2 of them to have a virtual dogfight. It’s much bigger than it looks. It’s a lot of fun.
It’s been in the news UK now has its very own Space Agency.It’s a serious business and cost 40 million pounds to set up and has 230 million in funds. So how will they prevent disaster and stop asteroids (or NEO’s)? Turns out a small Yorkshire fencing company is the solution (although they probably have no idea about it yet).
On the eve of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, this brilliantly executed set of 33 posters (including 1 from each of the 32 nations competing) is sure to cause a stir and hopefully a laugh or two.
If there are better ceiling lights than these, I don’t know what they are – though I’m willing take take suggestions.
Designer Jake Phipps came up with these classy creations a little while back, and I hope was duly rewarded for bringing a bit of dapper to the lighting scene. He calls them the Jeeves & Wooster – click through for cultural reference.
Honestly, is there anything a distinguished hat isn’t good for? If you’ve got some other well designed or wacky hat uses, or lighting solutions, it would be great to see them in the comments!
We’ve been asked to submit an A4 image for the Digital Who’s Who of Australia. It would be boring if we just submitted the image so in true socialist media stylee, we thought we’d throw it open to you to pick an image.
Here’s the brief:
‘Lastly, please provide a single A4 image (at 300dpi) that you feel most effectively communicates your strengths to prospective clients.
The content is absolutely up to you, as long as we can print it on an A4 page.’
Submit your entry in the comments below.
Best image wins one of these snazzy Razorfish iPhone covers:
First off, you’re going to need to look at this picture, and think about how awesome it is. If only for having one of the best old school Nintendo super teams ever formed, lined up there at the bottom.
Now consider this, you’re about to play through some good ol’ Super Mario Bros – which of those characters would you choose to play through with? Honestly, I need look no further than Mega Man (or Rockman for you purists) – but you might have a different opinion.
The final step here, is to find Super Mario Crossover (which I have helpfully provided a link to) and then go fulfil your nerdy dreams.
The developer has done a really fantastic job here, with Mushrooms and Fireflowers providing perfectly adapted powers for each character. Can’t recommend this enough as a nostalgic, Friday afternoon time waster.
I have already spent too much time on this, but it just brings back too many awesome memories of my childhood wasted time in front of the computer screen.
Posted by stephanlange 
Amnesia Blog 
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