Print you a fighter jet or something

As the mem rolls on about proliferation of home printers becoming fab machines you might check this article about defensetech.

Internet Phone Whuffie

TBP from Those Dark Trees sent me this link for Bichun.org
Bichun Society appears to be distributing a software plugin which tracks Whuffie on your Skype. Can't say I am nuts about the term "Bichun Butler". But 270 others don't seem to mind.

For those of you who aren't familiar with terms:

Bichun Societey: mythical social group from Cory Doctorows book de sci-fi "Down and Out in The Magic Kingdom. (Inspiration for this blog.)

Whuffie: Metric for social approval also from Cory's Book.

Skype: Kinda free Vonage style internet phone.

Great direction since we all know it is just a matter of time until they install phones in our skulls.

Try these equations:

Joseph Petviashvili+Skype=Bichun Society/Whuffie

Social Engineer+T-Mobile=Rapidly Deployable Social Metric.

Now consider how the nazi's used social status to further thier cause, and imagine if they only had this technology.

As Einstien, Turing, and Oppenhiemer all faced, we ask, just because people have the potential to misuse power, should that stop us from making something really cool? A resounding "NO!". Good show Mr.Petviashvili. When I get my computer working again I will try this "Butler" device.

Persian Retro Video Game Rug?

While the whole "mash" concept is really big with me, what I like most is the execution of this hipster rug from Bucharest's Janek Simon featuring "space invaders" gui, such a classy subtle work of art. Even better yet is the copy that goes with it "...the Oriental rug for your portable arcade mosque. Follow the voice of the Joystick prophet."

via Zblog

Collective News

I got a ping from Calder from NowPublic about some Napolean Dynamite photos I took at last years festival. While NP is a little replete of news thast interests me. (Not largr Italian or Canadian Soccor Fan) I love the concept. There has been a buzz about peer sharing public news content and I think this site is in the right direction.

BTW, I have been away involved in a new endevour. It is pretty big, and off the beaten track. I will tell you more when I can.

Gangster Tree Hugger? Snhnizzle Garret?

RapLeaf a new reputation software for buyers and sellers seems to have a very open trust based model. It will be interesting to see how they do despite Ebay appearing to block them.


via techcrunch

#17

Well since since our inception here at Whuffie Blog in 2003, we have been at the top of the Google search string until we went down in June 04' Since then we had virtually been disappeared. However, I was happy to see we are now placing number 17 (page 2) in the Google search string. Not that it matters that much. But it is truly a novelty. Ooh our obscure blog named after an obscure term from a semi-popular sci-fi book is number 1 on Google. Ka-ching.

Virtual Screen

Samsung speaks of easier text input on your cell phone with a table top display projected from your phone. Hmnnn, glad to know they are thinking of the millions of troubled button pushers and all. But why not just a plam interface on the screen?

Life Expectancy Watch

Father Kircher might find it cool. I like the idea of valuing this short experience of life. Of course a watch like this would maybe not be healthy for those 1) in jail 2) depressed 3) working very mundane jobs.

This brought to mind another concept I had that I call "Google Live". Whereby the powers of Google are at your behest verbally. Voice controlled computer search seems pretty powerful. But what if you could Google poeple's life expectancy?

Imagine waking up in the morning, your computer says "Good morning Dave." It is Day 14,630 of your life you have 12,798 days more to enjoy." and then you Google your boss's LE.



via boingx2

Nasa goes "open source"?

NY times reports NASA takes a new approach to devlopment with "Centennial Challenges" offering prizes of $200,000 to $5 million, for solar sails, lunar excavators and the tiny elevators.

via Kelso

micro - phone

While this is came out some time ago I still thought it neat. A small microphone on a chip board. The question may not be how can it get smaller but who's listening?

Goop

CEO Peter Gibbons (previously at Initech, a TPS automation company) came up with a new startup for social software as reported by TechCrunch The startup taughts fully interactive 3D social tagging environments, first rate cut and paste bookmarklets, and with an Ajax/Flash rich interface with rounded corners and easy-on-the-eyes pastels.

We here at Whuffie are ecstatic about this new API.

Sign up for Beta testing here.

Re-Imagined

Cool Blog for Disney and Pixar imagineers.

via Blogger

Clear displays

Must see the latest in OLED (Organic Light Emmiting Diode) from the folks at Fraunhofer
I just want to wave my arms around and wear a cool glove like 'Cruise. That and have a cool glass display.

United Arab Emirates Space Port

US company "Space Adventures" in Virginia will be building a commercial space fleet and a space port in UAE. Prospects for more ports in Singapore and North America. STORY HERE

I guess I don't feel so bad about debocle about the ports the UAE has here in the US.

And, yes, riding any craft from a company called "Space Adventures" in kahoots with the old Russian space program does sound questionable in my small mind. Item 1 for marketing division: come up with a new less hillbilly name like Skynet or Cosmorp. Item 2 make russian and space synonomous with quality and safety.

whuffietracker

New software from WhuffieTracker? It appears that idea is all of your social software is aggregated in one trackable spot, blogs, flick photos, delicious tags. However the home page just points to Niall Kennedy. But maybe I am missing something obvious or the site is still under development.
images here (not sure what the thumb drive is for.)

Digital Concrete

Very cool LED display in concrete concept from
Chris Glaister at the Royal College Of Art.

Boost your blogging performance

Well this is a test of a new in browser blog ap for Firefox called performancing . It is really slick. I had heard that it was much less disruptive to the blogging process. I think it is. (Although every time I try to change the 'p' to a cap it opens up the website in a tab in my browser.)

Ferro-Fluid

Originally developed by NASA the photos are are worth seeing. And using ferrofluids to create light-weight, flexible clothing which can be transformed into heavy-duty body armor in one-hundredth of a second by generating an electromagnetic field is worth pondering.

via linkfilter.ne

Netvibe = Fench people good

Netvibes in beta. I really like this homepage application. I had been searching for a feed aggregator but they seemed too bulky. Other homepage apps all seemed clunky. This goes pretty smoothly. The way this works with RSS/ATOM allows me to add all my feeds onto my custom home page.

pro:
1) simple to use
2) The blog browse window is pretty handy as a feed reader.
3) The way you drag and drop your windows is sweet.
4) No new software to download.
5) My wife and family can all use it from anywhere anytime.

con:
1) Not able to apply links too computer files.
2) You cannot really add photos, clips or icons other than a feed to Flickr.
3) While the privacy policy is pretty simple and good. I am not so sure who could be reading my desktop.
4) No real way to export your desktop or items to another account.
5) The Price Watch is all in Euros.

Just found the blog and will have to read more, but check it out.

UPDATE: Bad vibes. My account is suddenly gone. It took quite a bit of time to set up my page, so I am really irked. We will see what support says, I suspect it will be make a new account. Now for some freedom fries.

Pay Your Debt or Get Bad Whuffie

While the logo reminds me of the monopoly get out of jail free guy's son, I love the concept. I find my memory fails me unless I write down personal debts. Check out this social application. I will be more apt to sign up when they combine it with Paypal.

via techcrunch

Quote

"Love. You can know all the math in the 'Verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells ya she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her home."

Captain Mal Reynolds

BBC does interview from inside video game

Immersion into altered realities is not only large in sci-fi but a strong theme in Cory Doctorow's DOIMK. However, not everyone wants to get on a computer and hang out in video game in the Elf community dedicated to magic, mystery and big hair. I think this landmark interview is more then a cutesy gimmick. It takes gaming beyond mainstream entertainment and it becomes a new form of recreation and social interaction albeit virtual.

Imagine the first TV talk show to interview only avatars. Or the first avatar talk show host. Or your daughter introduces you to her new boyfirend, and your not shocked when you find out he is an avatar? How about avatar rights? Chatrooms and Net Cafes with "no avatar" buttons.

The advent of high speed processors, low cost hardware, and budding imagery technology, mean logging in and checking out is becoming bigger. Also having more impact.

I have found it surprising how many friends and aquintances spend serious time gaming. Especially those who you would not normally associate with that recreation.


via humaninbox

UPDATE: Check out 3D IM avatars that you can dress?
Also see a Creative Commons License 'ap that allows you to register from inside the game?

Fly Pen

Wired Magazine had an article about the Fly Pentop, a product of Leapfrog. Around Christmas I thought that might be a neat gift for our underlings.

$99 (US) seemed a little steep for another gadget, so I thought I would wait and see. Until I saw one in the thrift store for $6.99. (woohoo!) It all seems to work (although it may be missing the battery charger.) I am impressed. It is a wonderous new technology. Here is how it works there is a small video camera that tracks your movements and sends info to the processor. Thre are games that it reads off cards and swiping the tip across "fly strips", and you can write on a piece of special "fly paper". Her is wher it gets g333k- draw nine squares and four circles and you have a keyboard and drum pad. Write REC and draw a sqaure around it and it will record whatever you play. While it takes a little getting used to and it can be a little 'snickety, this technolgoy will change the world. Okay at least my kids worlds. Of course they have not played with it yet as I am still checking it out. ;)

Quote

"The medium is the message...new technologies are not simply changing the way information is transmitted; they are changing our perception of reality. "

Marshall MCluhan

AIO Card

More e-paper mania:
After watching the beloved Minority Report over the holidays (and the not so beloved 'Imposter- P.K. Dick' stars Gary Senise- reminded me of a long Outer Limits) and another old favorite Red Planet- [image] I want me some e-paper. Wireless internet on low cost vellum. Newspapers are going to have to go to this format. Save the planet angle less consumer waste distribute live streaming content. [image]Follow the headline link to a page by a Sun Microsystems Engineer about the concept and gaggle of posts about it. My favorite is " You forgot to put the number 666 on it somewhere"

via moskalyuk

Myspace Flickr Blogger not social software?

It appears that Ross Mayfield came to the same conlusions I had about top social aggrigators like Myspace in my previous post. Dion Hinchcliffe (via blinklist) notes in his blog about web 2.0 (I am pretty strict about not blogging about bloggging on this site. Or as I call it "Blogsterbation".) but he has some interesting thoughts on Social Software and has preposed 4 "pillars". I am rethinking MySpace as true social software. Is not just an application that is being used socially. But also can be berreft of true social interaction. (I am biased) but I would like to think that there are or will be pure or true forms of social software. But let me consternate on this. I am currently researching a listing of what I call whuff-a-likes; software that resembles Whuffie. If you have any links let me know.

Net Cop Icon on every communist repressed webpage

Sub Provincial Chinese region to add netcop icons linked to live officers to local websites to remind them to "behave".

Ahh yes social innovation at it's finest. The sad thing is that big money and big gov interests will pounce on the notion. How about "officer RIAA" on every mp3 site?

via smartmobs

update: to read more shanghidaily requires a subscription now so go here for another story shanghaiist.com

Threats from Talking Robot Cameras

In an Orwellian vein this municapality is adding verbal reprimands to the survailance-ware that is quickly chewing up human freedom. Next a small audio cannon will stun you slightly. Yeah that would work.

Choice quote from the article:

"It's kind of a forced accountability," said Anderson, the camera's designer. "You tend to be more accountable if someone's watching."

via shawnrouse

Hover Chair

While there is very little info and I would love a video clip, this hover chair is what every CEO should have. (note: click the furniture link.)

via vestal design

Cell Phone Body Mod watch

Wrist watch that uses your bones to notify you of a call and that you answer by putting your finger in your ear. (I still like the GetSmart shoe phone.)

via submetathoughts