10.28.2009
Okay, it's almost time to start switching from our fall gear into our winter wear. Are you wondering whether those slouchy boots clash with that bag or if you can get away with wearing leggings under that dress? Before you shell out a small fortune making potential fashion faux pas, mayhaps you should pay a visit to Shmotter.com.
A new web startup, Shmotter is your own personal lookbook. Populated with clothes and accessories from a large selection of retailers, the site allows fashion mavens to put a look together without the hassle of running from store to store like a mad woman. Just select the piece of clothing or fashion accoutrement you want to sort through using the available tab to select from tops, dresses, bags, etc.
When you've find the piece you're looking for simply drag it over to the left side of the screen to add to part of your look and rinse, wash, and repeat until you've created your look. And since sometimes you really need a second opinion, you can save your outfit to your profile and have the Shmotter community vote on your wardrobe to determine whether it's a fashion hit or miss. (The outfit that you're viewing in the pic is one I put together. I call it Dark and Stormy. Thoughts?)
Continue reading "Wardrobe Made Simple by Shmotter.com"
Posted by sherri
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10.21.2009
If you had walked into Takashimaya - Tokyo's premium retail store - anytime during October 14th to 18th, you would have been greeted rather mechanically. No, not a figure of speech, just the bare truth. For the receptionist at Takashimaya was Saya - the speech-capable robot created by Professor Hiroshi Kobayashi from the Tokyo University of Science.
This "female" robot has been designed to provide about 700 programmed responses to questions and commands - enough to direct customers to the appropriate floor, make small talk(!), and answer a few basic questions about herself and her background. And to help her pull off the con are pneumatic actuators in Saya’s head which allow her to move her neck, mouth and eyes while she speaks, and to also create facial expressions ranging from happiness and surprise to sadness and anger.
Now imagine what made her angry. The compliment "You are pretty" to which she replied scornfully "Are you crazy?". Whoever said "Vanity, thy name is woman", take it back.
Via Pink Tentacle.
Posted by kanchana
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08.29.2009
Back to school and back to work. SIgh. But don't lose heart: find cheerful, stylish office supplies and organizing tools at See Jane Work.
The site has a fine array of handsome basics to get you through the day: binders, notebooks, agendas and calendars, pens and pencils, school supplies, and gorgeous Moonsus bags. Also a slew of organizing tips--and even a printable ToDo list.
Posted by Tam
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08. 9.2009
And while we're on the subject, David Pogue has just done a thorough job of comparing Amazon's and Barnes & Noble's e-book services.
B&N won't introduce a Kindle-like reading device until next year. Meantime you can not only read B&N books on your iPhone, you can read them on your computer--a first for commercial e-book services.
Of course, for many years that service has been available--free--from Project Gutenberg, always on my Top Ten list of 'Net freebies. If you don't always have your computer with you but do have a Palm PDA or Smartphone, there's a free app, called plucker, for reading any of the thousands of free Gutenberg books. Get plucker versions of e-books from the Gutenberg site.
Posted by Tam
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08. 6.2009
Apparently it was a joke by this gentleman which got him hooked to Twitter. And his toilet too. Seth Hardy, a researcher for an anti-virus company, wasn't too fond of Twitter and decided to point out what he terms "very mundane stuff" on the site by hooking up his toilet (Twitter handle - @hacklab.toilet) with help from some microcontrollers, wires and Arduino boards to answer Twitter's "What are you doing?" question. But Twitter's subsequent explosion got him 580 followers and he says he is now hooked into doing something useful with his DIY experiment - to test out the Arduino boards.
And the trend has caught on pretty fast. Many home appliances are apparently substituting for humans on Twitter - @mytoaster has about 200 twitter followers, with only two alternating messages “Toasting” and “Toast is done.” If you find that a tad boring, there is also the popular Tweet-a-watt open source hardware kit from Adafruit Industries which let users post the daily energy consumption of their refrigerator or TV set to a Twitter account. There's more - @Pimpy3wash and @mattsoffice are a washing machine, and an array of home light and temperature sensors. More in this interesting read from Wired on how non-humans are invading this much-loved, much-hated social networking site.
And you thought only we humans feel the need to be noticed.
Posted by kanchana
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07.31.2009
Soon, it maybe easier to "green" up your home by doing away with plastic and bringing in household items made from a natural alternative. Scientists at the Fraunhofer Institute for Chemical Technology (ICT) in Pfinztal, Germany are hard at work trying to make a substance called "Liquid Wood" a reality for household use. This substance, whose actual name is Arboform, is derived from a material called lignin that is leftover during the paper-making process in cellulose industries. Lignin is then mixed with fine natural fibers made of wood, hemp or flax and natural additives such as wax to derive a plastic-like material that can be use to create household items.
It seems that Arboform is already used in car parts and other durable items, but its foray into homes had been blocked by its high sulphur content. With the current research, it has been possible to reduce the sulphur content in Arborform by about 90 percent, making it much safer for use in everyday items. And eco supporters can also be happy to know it is highly recyclable. We are living in truly exciting times.
Via Core77.
Posted by kanchana
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07. 6.2009
Here's a sweet story, or even a "tweet" story... No, I'm not rambling on about Twitter yet again - I'm talking about real birds this time.
After British digital radio station OneWorld was taken off the air, the BBC had nothing to replace it with. So they replaced music with... recorded birdsong.
Almost half a million listeners tuned in over the 18 months "Birdsong radio" was running, many of whom, like author Sir Terry Pratchett, found it "relaxing". Some fans were city-dwellers who never get to hear birds singing in real life.
But at the start of June, the idyll was over: The BBC's new station, Amazing Radio, which will feature unsigned artists, was launched, and Birdsong radio was no more. Huh. I guess it was more of a sad story, really. Shame there isn't room on the radio for upcoming musicians and nature's own, isn't it?
Image: Wikimedia.
Posted by Diane
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06.30.2009
It seems like expectant parents are always being faced with incredibly scary information (like the fact that if you're pregnant, that baby is going to come out of you, and it is going to hurt, or that you are going to be sole caretakers of another human being, that kind of stuff). "Don't panic!" Parenting books exude, while you're hyperventilating into the paper bag they came in.
Well, a new site launched this week by popular "mommybloggers" Alice Bradley (aka Finslippy) and Eden Marriott Kennedy (of Fussy fame) takes a total different tack.
Continue reading "New website encourages parents to Panic About Babies"
Posted by Diane
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06.29.2009
Ever wondered what that huge informational powerhouse called the "internet" thinks about a particular topic, say - Barack Obama, Swine Flu, The iPhone 3Gs, or just Dirty Laundry?
Well, being the powerful entity that it is, the "internet" ought to have a mind of its own now, doesn't it? Which is why this site called whatdoestheinternetthink tries to demystify those nagging questions which have, until now, remained unanswered. whatdoestheinternetthink analyses the search results from popular search engines (Google, Yahoo & Bing), and categorizes the final result on the topic as being Positive, Negative, or Don't Care. It also colorfully depicts the percentage of search results that fall under each of these three categories, along with a short summary of this topic being discussed on Twitter.
Pretty useful and gets quite addictive. Plus, it was quite interesting for me to know that 64.7% of the internet doesn't really care about Michelle Obama, while 71% is actually positive on Lindsay Lohan (according to Google). Hmmm.
Posted by kanchana
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06.16.2009
Reason 1. It's a really cool site set up by two friends, Melissa Walker (who is also a YA author) and Anne Ichikawa, who used to work together at ELLEgirl.
Reason 2. The site highlights gorgeous must-haves every day, from funky new music to the best nail polish color for the season.
Reason 3. It's primarily aimed at teens but written by adults so grown women don't have to feel bashful about loving it.
Reason 4. They're often having competitions and giving cool stuff away, like a Fred Flare gift certificate every Friday.
Reason 5. It's like a more fun verison of Daily Candy and a less self-flagellating version of Goop.
What more could you want, and what more do you need to know?
The web address perhaps? Access I Heart Daily's daily brilliance here, or follow them on Twitter to stay one step ahead.
Posted by Diane
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