Joining other discarded technologies of late, including the Flip video camera, Kodachrome, and the humble floppy disk is the typewriter, which will no longer be produced anywhere in the world.
The last company on earth to produce the typewriter — Godrej and Boyce — has shut down its production plant in Mumbai, India, according to reports that, fittingly, are making the rounds via the Internet…
Continue reading… “RIP Typewriters: Last Manufacturer Closes Its Doors”
Bloomberg was first to report today that two iPad/iPhone users have filed a class action lawsuit accusing Apple of invasion of privacy and computer fraud, and of “secretly recording movements of iPhone and iPad users.”
What will it be like to watch television in 2030?
Futurist Thomas Frey: Having just returned from four days at the famous Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, I am spending the next couple weeks sorting through the vast array of products I came across, looking for overarching trends and patterns that may signal lifestyle shifts in the future.
Continue reading… “Eight Great Explosions in Video”
There are two choices of toilet paper orientation when using a toilet roll holder with a horizontal axle parallel to the wall: the toilet paper may hang over or under the roll. The choice is largely a matter of personal preference, dictated by habit. In surveys of consumers and of bath and kitchen specialists, 70% of respondents prefer over.
Despite being a trivial topic, people often hold strong opinions on the matter…
Continue reading… “Over Or Under?”
What makes the smart grid more efficient?
The smart grid is a complicated beast. While the concept is simple enough — make the energy grid intelligent so that we use electricity in the most efficient manner possible — the implementation is mind-numbingly intricate. That’s why progress is steady but slow, from developing technology to standards to systems. GigaOm has a new report detailing six areas that are important for the growth of the new grid, including improvements in home energy management, carbon management and electric vehicle technologies.
Continue reading… “6 Trends Shaping The Smart Grid”
Becoming a Socially Responsible Brand takes teamwork.
For decades, the decision to be an environmentally and socially responsible company has been based on the bottom line: Would it be profitable? In general, companies have crunched the numbers and chosen shareholder profits over a sufficient commitment to invest in greater social responsibility. In terms of traditional accounting and the legal requirements of corporations, costs always outweighed benefits.
But it now seems that this equation is starting to lean the other way as brands recognize the potential financial and reputational advantages they can gain by engaging with consumers around the shared ambition of building a better world…
Continue reading… “The 7-Stage Evolution of a Socially Responsible Brand”
The magic that happens inside of a whiskey barrel has always intrigued whiskey drinkers. But unless you are a whiskey drinker who owns a distillery, it’s next to impossible to witness the transformation of the distillate from clear to brown, and the many flavor, aroma, and taste complexities that are added before finishing the journey as aged whiskey. But no longer…
Continue reading… “Age Your Own Whiskey Kit”
Yesterday we told you about blood type perfumes. Today we have something even wackier. Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab is selling a line of RPG-inspired perfumes intended to invoke the mythical races of elves, dwarves, half-elves, hobbits and orcs, as well as the distinctive aromas of clerics, fighters, mages, paladins and such. I totally guessed that paladins smelled like vanilla and “evil” smelled of “Smouldering opium tar, tobacco absolute, green tea, black plum, kush, ambergris accord, ambrette seed, and costus root…”
Continue reading… “Smell Like A Nerd: RPG Performance Perfumes”
OkTrends has an intriguing post about sex compiled from the data from the bazillion interaction data of members of the OkCupid dating site, but this one is particularly intriguing: active Twitter users have shorter relationships…
Continue reading… “Active Twitter Users Have Shorter Relationships”
A drive-through funeral parlour in Compton, California, with a glass-encased chamber for the coffin offers convenience to mourners. Robert L. Adams Mortuary also provides a speedy way for well-known community members to be viewed en masse…
Continue reading… “Funeral Parlor Offers Drive-Through Casket Viewing”
Go Through Your Mid-Life Crisis Without Waking Up the Neighbors
The Sora is a new electric motorcycle by Lito Green Motion, a Canadian company. It looks fairly badass and thanks to its 12 kWh advanced lithium-polymer batteries, it has an electric range of 300 kilometers (185 miles) and a top speed of 200 kph (124 mph). Read on for more specs and photos.
Continue reading… “Badass Electric Motorcycle Gets 185 Miles on a Charge”
A compound found in chocolate outperforms over-the-counter and codeine-based cough-suppressants in clinical trials. The compound, theobromine, was written up in the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Journal following a small placebo-controlled study at Imperial College London. Our GP told us that the best thing for a cough was a spoonful of honey, and it’s pretty much all we use around our house (well, that and the vile, repulsive, disgusting, incredibly effective Buckley’s Mixture — but that’s a last resort).
Continue reading… “Chocolate Compound Beats Codeine for Cough-Suppression”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.