SUNDAY JUNE 28 2009
In the cinema quality video below, Microsoft's Office Labs has produced their vision of what we may be doing in 2019.
Some of the new technologies demoed including a “transparent wall” between two classrooms around the world, animated drawings, realtime conversation translations, surface displays, electronic boarding cards, transparent displays, mini projectors, electronic newspapers among many others.
As long as its all not running on Vista!
For more information and insights into the future, please visit www.officelabs.com.
SUNDAY JUNE 21 2009
Manned Cloud is an alternative project around leisure and travelling in all its form, economic and experimental, still with the idea of lightness, human experience and life scenarios as the guiding principles. The spiral of Archimedes is the driving force of this airship in the form of a whale that glides through the air.
The airship, developed with French national aerospace research body ONERA, will be able to accommodate 40 guests and have a range of 5,000 km. Cruising speed is anticipated to be 130 km/h with a top speed of 170 km/h. The two-deck cabin will contain amenities including a restaurant, a library, a fitness suite and a spa. There will also be a sun deck on top of the double helium-filled envelopes.
The scientific partner of the project, ONERA, has begun research and analysis into the feasibility of the project.
We hope that this graceful and enviromentally friendly alternative form of transport will be floating quitely in our skies in the not too distant future.
Massaud was voted 'Designer of the year 2009' by Now! Design à vivre.
For more information please visit www.massaud.com
Read the full article
SUNDAY JUNE 14 2009
OK you may think, a deep-sea fish with a transparent head is unusual, but then many, if not most, deep-sea fish are unusual.
But look closely at the barreleye's eyes and there is a good chance you are looking at its nose. What appear to be eyes, those small round objects just above his mouth, are actually olfactory organs. They are basically fish nostrils.
The eyes are actually those green demi-spheres inside the top of its head. Its eyes are shaped like barrels and thus its name. Spherical eyes are not as well adapted for the dark deeps in which it the barrel fish lives and its eye can swivel inside its head to look up, forward, or and even to backwards through the top rear of its cranium to see if there is anything coming from behind and above.
The name 'barreleye' drives from the fact that because their eyes are tubular in shape. Barreleyes typically live near the depth where sunlight from the surface fades to complete blackness. They use their ultra-sensitive tubular eyes to search for the faint silhouettes of prey overhead.
Although such tubular eyes are very good at collecting light, they have a very narrow field of view. Furthermore, until now, most marine biologists believed that the barreleye's eyes were fixed in their heads, which would allow them to only look upward. This would make it impossible for the fishes to see what was directly in front of them, and very difficult for them to capture prey with their small, pointed mouths.
The barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) is 15cms long (6"), lives at depths of more than 600 meters (2000') and, although it was first discovered in 1939, the transparent nature of its head wasn’t known as the only specimins examined were caught in nets and dead, and when dead the transparent nature of its skull disappears so it was thought that the fish could not see forwards.
It was not until recently that a team from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Insitute sent remotely operated vehicles to the ocean floor to study the Barreleyeand make the remarkable discovery that the fish had a transparent skull and could rotate its eyes through many angles. They also managed to capture a live specimen, and over several hours observed the fish rotating its eyes.
There are more things in heaven and earth (and underwater), Horatio, . . . .
For more information, please visit news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html
SUNDAY JUNE 07 2009
This emotionally charged piece, a one-of-a-kind interpretation of MB&F’s Horological Machine N°2, is signed by the American artist Sage Vaughn.
It will be auctioned at Only Watch, the charity auction to benefit research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to be held in Monaco on 24 September 2009 under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II.
Maximilian Büsser said that he and his team were “shocked into” participating and were determined to work with Sage Vaughn. His paintings of gaily dressed children or bright birds or butterflies against bleak urban backgrounds had the tension between affirmation of life and a sense of desperation that they were seeking.
Vaughn, whose solo shows have won widespread critical acclaim, has fought and conquered his own demon – a seven-year heroin addiction – and the pain of that struggle is felt in the emotional power of his work. He immediately agreed to contribute his time and talent.
You can see parallels between Vaughn's 'State Penn' painting above and the HM2 only Watch.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder affecting boys. It causes a progressive weakening of the muscles that becomes fatal as the child gets older.
The Monegasque Association against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (AMM) is a leading force in the drive to find a cure.
The barbed wire is handcrafted in blackened gold, the butterfly in blued gold and the scene has all the emotional impact of the first rough by the artist.
For more information and images, please check out the dedicated Only Watch section on www.MB&F.com
SUNDAY MAY 31 2009
Jake Loniak designed Deus Ex Machina while studying for a Transportation Design degree at the Art Center College of Design. It would use nano phosphate batteries and artificial muscles to give a theoretical limited top speed of 129 kms/hr (75mph).
“I never envisioned this as a commuter,” says Loniak. “This is a sport bike.”
It would stand vertically when parked, so that the rider can step in and strap the bike on like a full-body suit. A computer would interpret the rider’s body movements, translate those into directional commands for the motorcycle, and steer the bike using 36 pneumatic muscles (artificial muscles made by the German company Festo that inflate or deflate to change the direction).
Deus exists only as computer illustrations and animations, but Loniak is confident that it can be built. “I believe a working prototype could be made, but it would take a great deal of time and engineering,” he says. The basic technology already exists; the Watertown, Massachusetts, start-up A123 is already selling the lithium-ion batteries Loniak wants to use, and a number of companies are developing ultracapacitors for electric cars and hybrids. “This isn’t fantasy,” he says. “It’s a green vehicle, and all of the numbers are based in the real world.”
Bring it on!
Microsoft Imagines Technology in 2019
When Microsoft images technology of the future, they have a head start on the rest of us in that they are very likely to be working on much of it right here in the present.In the cinema quality video below, Microsoft's Office Labs has produced their vision of what we may be doing in 2019.
Some of the new technologies demoed including a “transparent wall” between two classrooms around the world, animated drawings, realtime conversation translations, surface displays, electronic boarding cards, transparent displays, mini projectors, electronic newspapers among many others.
As long as its all not running on Vista!
For more information and insights into the future, please visit www.officelabs.com.
SUNDAY JUNE 21 2009
Manned Cloud by Jean-Marie Massaud
Manned Cloud is a flying hotel proposed by French designer Jean-Marie Massaud, who has been working on the project since 2005.Manned Cloud is an alternative project around leisure and travelling in all its form, economic and experimental, still with the idea of lightness, human experience and life scenarios as the guiding principles. The spiral of Archimedes is the driving force of this airship in the form of a whale that glides through the air.
The airship, developed with French national aerospace research body ONERA, will be able to accommodate 40 guests and have a range of 5,000 km. Cruising speed is anticipated to be 130 km/h with a top speed of 170 km/h. The two-deck cabin will contain amenities including a restaurant, a library, a fitness suite and a spa. There will also be a sun deck on top of the double helium-filled envelopes.
The scientific partner of the project, ONERA, has begun research and analysis into the feasibility of the project.
We hope that this graceful and enviromentally friendly alternative form of transport will be floating quitely in our skies in the not too distant future.
Massaud was voted 'Designer of the year 2009' by Now! Design à vivre.
For more information please visit www.massaud.com
Read the full article
SUNDAY JUNE 14 2009
Amazing Barreleye fish with transparent head
OK you may think, a deep-sea fish with a transparent head is unusual, but then many, if not most, deep-sea fish are unusual.
But look closely at the barreleye's eyes and there is a good chance you are looking at its nose. What appear to be eyes, those small round objects just above his mouth, are actually olfactory organs. They are basically fish nostrils.
The eyes are actually those green demi-spheres inside the top of its head. Its eyes are shaped like barrels and thus its name. Spherical eyes are not as well adapted for the dark deeps in which it the barrel fish lives and its eye can swivel inside its head to look up, forward, or and even to backwards through the top rear of its cranium to see if there is anything coming from behind and above.
The name 'barreleye' drives from the fact that because their eyes are tubular in shape. Barreleyes typically live near the depth where sunlight from the surface fades to complete blackness. They use their ultra-sensitive tubular eyes to search for the faint silhouettes of prey overhead.
Although such tubular eyes are very good at collecting light, they have a very narrow field of view. Furthermore, until now, most marine biologists believed that the barreleye's eyes were fixed in their heads, which would allow them to only look upward. This would make it impossible for the fishes to see what was directly in front of them, and very difficult for them to capture prey with their small, pointed mouths.
The barreleye (Macropinna microstoma) is 15cms long (6"), lives at depths of more than 600 meters (2000') and, although it was first discovered in 1939, the transparent nature of its head wasn’t known as the only specimins examined were caught in nets and dead, and when dead the transparent nature of its skull disappears so it was thought that the fish could not see forwards.
It was not until recently that a team from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Insitute sent remotely operated vehicles to the ocean floor to study the Barreleyeand make the remarkable discovery that the fish had a transparent skull and could rotate its eyes through many angles. They also managed to capture a live specimen, and over several hours observed the fish rotating its eyes.
There are more things in heaven and earth (and underwater), Horatio, . . . .
For more information, please visit news_releases/2009/barreleye/barreleye.html
SUNDAY JUNE 07 2009
MB&F's Only Watch HM2 piece unique by artist Sage Vaughn
There is a butterfly trapped in the movement of the latest watch to emerge from MB&F (Maximilian Büsser & Friends). And it has no hope of escaping, because the complicated movement is wrapped in barbed wire.This emotionally charged piece, a one-of-a-kind interpretation of MB&F’s Horological Machine N°2, is signed by the American artist Sage Vaughn.
It will be auctioned at Only Watch, the charity auction to benefit research into Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy to be held in Monaco on 24 September 2009 under the patronage of HSH Prince Albert II.
Sage Vaughn was born in Jackson, Oregon and now lives and works in Los Angeles.
As a child he developed his talent for art in the company of his father, the artist Richard Smitty Vaughn Junior. His hippie parents had little money for toys, but they encouraged him to draw and to develop his own style. Later, he became an avid participant in the graffiti culture.
Today he favours painting, but the city of his graffiti days is ever present in his work.“I try to utilise animals in the same way that Aesop did in his fables”say Vaughn
Sage Vaughn’s paintings question the human condition and the difficulty of living in a contemporary environment. The bright birds and insects serve as an affirmation of life, but they also remind us of our strategies for survival in a modern society.Maximilian Büsser said that he and his team were “shocked into” participating and were determined to work with Sage Vaughn. His paintings of gaily dressed children or bright birds or butterflies against bleak urban backgrounds had the tension between affirmation of life and a sense of desperation that they were seeking.
Vaughn, whose solo shows have won widespread critical acclaim, has fought and conquered his own demon – a seven-year heroin addiction – and the pain of that struggle is felt in the emotional power of his work. He immediately agreed to contribute his time and talent.
You can see parallels between Vaughn's 'State Penn' painting above and the HM2 only Watch.
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disorder affecting boys. It causes a progressive weakening of the muscles that becomes fatal as the child gets older.
The Monegasque Association against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (AMM) is a leading force in the drive to find a cure.
The barbed wire is handcrafted in blackened gold, the butterfly in blued gold and the scene has all the emotional impact of the first rough by the artist.
For more information and images, please check out the dedicated Only Watch section on www.MB&F.com
SUNDAY MAY 31 2009
Wearable Motorcycle Concept by Jake loniak
Jake Loniak designed Deus Ex Machina while studying for a Transportation Design degree at the Art Center College of Design. It would use nano phosphate batteries and artificial muscles to give a theoretical limited top speed of 129 kms/hr (75mph).
“I never envisioned this as a commuter,” says Loniak. “This is a sport bike.”
It would stand vertically when parked, so that the rider can step in and strap the bike on like a full-body suit. A computer would interpret the rider’s body movements, translate those into directional commands for the motorcycle, and steer the bike using 36 pneumatic muscles (artificial muscles made by the German company Festo that inflate or deflate to change the direction).
Deus exists only as computer illustrations and animations, but Loniak is confident that it can be built. “I believe a working prototype could be made, but it would take a great deal of time and engineering,” he says. The basic technology already exists; the Watertown, Massachusetts, start-up A123 is already selling the lithium-ion batteries Loniak wants to use, and a number of companies are developing ultracapacitors for electric cars and hybrids. “This isn’t fantasy,” he says. “It’s a green vehicle, and all of the numbers are based in the real world.”
Bring it on!
