Geekery

Did you know?

Posted on 16. Mar, 2010 by Jake.

Forget Chappies wrappers, the following clip has some facts for the modern age.
They focus on technology and how it has changed our lives.
I can’t vouch for all of them, but I’m sure some research has been done by its creators (who, in case you were wondering, are Americans Karl Fisch, Scott McLood and Jeff Bronman).
The music is Fatboy Slim’s ‘Right Here, Right Now’ btw.
Check it out! I think it’s pretty impressive.

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Pokens – Leave them alone. They’re cute.

Posted on 29. Jan, 2010 by Jake.

They’re cute. They are decorated by top graphic designers and look a little like vinyl toys. They utilize cutting edge Near Field Communication technology. They have almost no worldly use whatsoever. Meet the Poken.

The Poken is a little device that has ambitions to replace the business card. And, seeing as we need to decrease our carbon footprint and stop cutting down the trees, this isn’t a bad idea. Basically, the Poken comes in the form of a little device, like a memory stick but better looking, which has a hand on it. In the middle of the hand is a little pad. The idea is that when you meet someone else with a Poken you ‘high five them’, basically touch their device with yours, and the pads on each Poken will light up to let you know that it has worked. Then, when you get home, you plug it in like a normal USB and download the details of the people you have ‘poked’. These people are arranged into some kind of buddy-style social network.

Apart from the obviously dodgy connotations of walking around all night ‘poking’ random strangers, the Poken will, in all likelihood, suffer due to the fact that it does not provide a function that is particularly needed. Business cards have become less prevalent as it is, since most cellular phones are equipped so that people can very easily store each others details. Have you ever sat around thinking about how much your life would improve if you had a little gadget to automatically save people’s contact details through some kind of high-fiving ritual? No? Well exactly. It’s not about to replace the iPad as this week’s most talked about piece of technology.

In its defence, at R200, its affordable, and has definite novelty value. The device’s greatest challenge, though, its that it can only work if everyone has one. If it ever gets to the stage that everyone is poking away everywhere I go chances are I will feel left out and get one. But, if you go to a bar and only 3 other people have them (and, so far, even that amount seems unlikely), your poken is not going to get a whole lot of use. And, most probably, people in the near vicinity will look at you funny if you ever do get the opportunity to use it.

Pokens are cute though, and as bunnies and babies the world over would hope, that has to count for something.

You an pick up a Poken at ilovepoken, buycool or Digital Planet. For more info, go here.

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Esquire’s moving magazine cover ushers in the present

Posted on 11. Jan, 2010 by Jake.

Proving themselves to be ahead of the curve when it comes to combining the old-school world of print media, or dead tree media as I prefer to call it, with the latest technology, Esquire celebrate their 75th anniversary with a magazine cover that moves.

‘The 21st Century Begins Now!’ proclaims the text on the cover proudly, just in case you were under the delusion that it started ten years ago.

The cover is the result of new technology called ‘E Ink’. Esquire are the first magazine to use such technology, and the cover is also the first example of a disposable E Ink display (the idea being that you can throw the mag away if you want to which, let’s face it, you probably don’t since it will probably become a collector’s item).

The technology adds only $2 (or R14) to the price of the mag, which has battery power that will last 90 days. 100 000 copies of the e-cover will be printed.

But enough chit chat. Seeing is believing. Check it out…

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Things that make you go hmmm

Posted on 17. Sep, 2009 by Jake.

I am pro-technology. I write a technology blog, so I don’t suppose this revelation will come as a surprise to you. Technology facilitates the advancement of the human race. No self-respecting technology blog reader would disagree.

However, sometimes technology is used for something so mind-bogglingly pathetic that it actually sets mankind back. Inventions so retarded that they make you feel that maybe life was better in caveman days after all, because at least back then no-one would have been able to manufacture something as stupid as the subjects of this here blog – things that should never have been invented.

For example, there are some people out there who are so lazy that they feel that lifting the toilet seat is just too much of an effort. There are others who are so obsessed with hygiene that they require rubber gloves in order to shake your hand. These people have gotten together to create one of the least necessary inventions of all time – the hands free automatic toilet seat.

Then, let me tell you about a friend of mine. He has a Roboraptor. It is a robotic dinosaur that runs around your house causing chaos for no apparent good reason. I would pay good money not to have one of these in my home. Along with the Tamagotchi, the Furbey and Sims, the inventor of this deserves a free frontal lobotomy. Get a kitten.

So we’ve messed up the world beyond repair and are hurtling towards extinction. But, don’t stress, there’s a solution. A car that has absolutely no power, no space, and is light enough for people to throw it into rivers. Which they actually do, enough for Smart Car Tipping to make the news: The dumbest part about the ironically named Smart Car is that it still runs on gas, and has the exact same fuel economy as other similarly small cars. Rather get a bicycle. Less people will laugh at you when they see you riding around in it.

Ok, so this is less an example of technology than something invented for technology to wear. But laptops don’t need clothing, I hear you protest. Yes they do, say the people who will earn money if they actually manage to convince anyone of this. “Well, why SHOULDN’T your laptop be warm & cozy too?” these people say. Don’t allow these people to prosper.

And finally, an invention so hilariously inane that it speaks for itself.  Allow me to introduce the DVD rewinder.
Nuff said I think.

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Gripping gadgets

Posted on 22. Jul, 2009 by Jake.

Whoever thought gadget’s were tame, think again, ole buddy ole pal.

 Checking out Wired.com this week, I came across the most hardcore mofo stuff out there – Pimp My Assault Rifle.

So you have your little Swiss Army Knife on your keyring and you use it to unscrew the screws on that old desktop for tinkering. But if civilian technology is being used in the military, how are military gadgets helping us, hey?

I mean, gajillions a year of our tax bucks a year are spent on some pretty hardcore blow-em-to-bits tech, but, just like rocket science, we, the people, only get the benefit of the byproducts of this research ( debate open here, folks, throw in your comments below. I’ll start: I mean, Is missile guided global nuclear war a good price to pay for your laser-guided pool cue? Huh?)

 When I asked a buddy why he decided to serve in the navy, he said that, while the army had cooler toys, there’d be the risk he might actually have to shoot someone. Um, yeah…there is that. Having said that, he did  get to ride around in some pretty nifty little speed boats – but then so can you.

The potential for atomic catastrophe did produce one obvious benefit (no, not the internet): the global positioning system. Yeah. GPS. 

Which you can then use to go out, explore the world, and have some fun.

Which brings us full circle to Wired’s more benign tour of ‘Survival Gear That’s Just Crazy Enough to Work’ (quote unquote).

Among the kooky and awkward is something really useful: the solar cooker.

Heating up to 90 degrees, and cooking at a constant temperature, it’s better than trying to cook breakfast on the bonnet of your overheated beat up old car.

The obvious drawback is that you’ll need a decent amount of sun. But hey, South Africa. Right?  And I’d definitely take my solar cooker out with me partying in the Karoo, just par example.

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