iconolith

Siftables

What an amazing mechanism to interact with information. I really like the math, language and storytelling concepts. More on the project on the Siftables web site.

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OQO Cheaper with More

Not that I want to be an engadget re-blog weenie, but the news is too good not to share. It is always great when technology prices drop right along with form factor. The Model 02 of the OQO is touting a larger hard drive and SSD, improved wireless capability and a faster processor. Along with that, the base model pricing is just at $1299, cheaper than the previous version. I would really like to see the price drop below $1k before I would ever seriously think of buying one, but until then I’m happy to drool.

The OQO press release has more details.

Image courtesy of Josh Bancroft

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Terragen Lanscape Generator

While reading this morning I came across Terragen from a description of a Joan Fontcuberta project mentioned on BLDGBLOG. Terragen is landscape generation software that is available as a free download for non-commercial use, but that also has a number of features for registered users. While it is possible to create a landscape out of virtually nothing save the software itself, the full version seems pretty powerful from something with only a $99 license fee.

Features include:

• random fractal terrain
• high detail foreground texturing
• depth based occlusion culling
• terrain sculpting tools
• terrain modification tools
• combination of terrains
• terrain import/export
• hierarchical surface colour map
• water
• cloud layer
• multi-haze atmospheric model
• volumetric lighting
• realistic sunlight attenuation system
• anisotropic lighting of atmosphere
• ‘soft’ shadows
• plugin system
• scripting system

According to their web site Planet soft is currently focusing on developing Terragen 2 with even more features AND the ability to import 3D objects into scenes.

• Cutting-edge adaptive subdivision renderer.
• Modular, plugin-based architecture.
• Render entire planets, sweeping vistas, tiny rock gardens, or anything in between.
• Import 3D objects for rendering. Export high resolution objects.
• Render millions of boulders or trees using “instancing”.
• Add multiple heightfields to your scene. Use procedural terrains that can span an entire planet.
• Apply almost “infinite” fractal detail to terrain and other objects.
• Overhanging terrain using procedural displacements, image-based displacements, or imported geometry.
• Volumetric clouds or fast “2.5D” clouds.
• Production quality anti-aliasing and motion blur.
• Node graph editor for ultimate control over shaders and textures.

Terragen certainly isn’t new to the scenery game by any means. According to their site the core technology in TG2 was used to render planets for Star Trek: Nemesis in 2002 and was also relied upon for hundreds of CG terrain shots in Stealth in 2005. The gallery has some examples of scenery that people have created that are simply breathtaking.

My first Terragen image less than 15 minutes after installation.

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A Little Light On the Epos Pen

If you’re like me and have been holding your breath for the Epos Pens to see the light of day, you can exhale now. While it seems they are still not available for purchase there are some reviews of the devices surfacing that may just quell some of the curiosity you may have.

There are two different pens that will be available, the first being the Wireless Digital Pen and Mouse. This device has two main functions - to capture handwriting from paper as it is being written and to function as a point-and-click device (like a mouse). Of the two pens, this is the one I have been waiting to see in the hopes that it will offer a higher level of control over a mouse or trackball for use with Photoshop and Illustrator thus eliminating the need to carry around my Intuos tablet while traveling. It would also be a bonus if this pen worked in conjunction with Elluminate Live (the original reason why Chris brought this pen to my attention in the first place). The outlook is grim for all of my hopes based on this review of the pen. It doesn’t seem to provide much accuracy at all.

The second pen Epos has is the Digital Pen & USB Flash Drive. You may notice that there is no mention of the word “mouse” in the name of this pen. This pen functions strictly as a mechanism for capturing handwriting and the flash memory device records your pen strokes as you write. Though the demo video on the Epos web site says you can store up to 1000 pages of handwriting I’m just not the type of person to hand-write such a copious amount of text. Maybe a poet would find this device more useful than I. ZDNet has a review of this device.

Based on the reviews linked above I really don’t have such high expectations for these products as I originally had, but will probably still give them a try and hope that Epos refines the technology for future applications.

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Another Step Toward Wearable Computing?

There is an article in the NewScientistTech about a new process that has been developed to create chain mail on a microscopic scale that may one day be used to link wearable electronic devices or sensors together. [via]

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Sleeeep

A company named Zyren has an interesting “clock” that they are marketing as the sleep system Night Cove that controls the ambient light in your environment. As a huge fan of sleep I can only imagine the endless hours of well managed, scientifically crafted sleep it could provide - just the thing for the wonky winter nights in Alaska. Despite my torrid love affair with sleep I remember the days when I was a morning person and I miss them. [via]

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Where’s Web2.0?

There are probably a whole lot of Web2.0 collections out there but go2web20.net is certainly the most Web2.0 of them that I have come across. There’s a whole lot of time-killin’ potential if you’re planning on visiting.

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LED Keyboards

While we are all sitting around waiting for the release of the Optimus keyboard (man, how long do we have to wait anyway?), a Korean company has launched an programmable LED keyboard of its own. Sadly, the keys are not individual LED screens, but it still looks really cool.

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Death and Meta

Cemetery 2.0 is a concept that links burial plots to online repositories of information about the deceased. Information is connected to the physical resting place so that visitors may access the surviving artifacts of that person. This project is a wonderful way to make use of technology to extend the memory of loved ones.

It would be interesting to take this one step further and add the ability for visitors to contribute their own collective memories of the deceased as artifacts. In this way those who were close to the person have the opportunity to contribute to memory or their loved one and explore facets of that person’s life from the perspective of others - by reading or listening to stories, or viewing images visitors leave behind. I guess this would essentially transform the grave site into a place for social interaction. Maybe, one day, the association of cemeteries as creepy desolate tracts of land will no longer hold true.

Birth and death are two of the most significant events in everyone’s life, which makes me wonder why we shove obituaries into the middle of the newspaper where they can be conveniently passed over. Each of those announcements should be front page news!

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The Future of Laundry

From the design labs at Electrolux comes the KaionWAVE washing system, a groundbreaking concept for laundry of the future. Functioning as both a washer and a dryer, the KaionWAVE washing system is ideal for houses where space is limited. No water or chemicals are necessary to run this washing system, and it uses wireless technology with electromagnetic induction technology which enables it to easily reside in the house of the future.

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