A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience
Apple iPods
They were launched over a decade ago and were the forefront of the digital revolution. But sales of iPods and other MP3 players in the UK slumped by more than a fifth in 2012 while consumers turned to smartphones as their gadget of choice.
Continue reading… “MP3 players are a dead technology”
Would you use a tongue-controlled MP3 grill?
Ever since Zeon took a hammer to my boombox, I haven’t been able to rock out to my favorite New Kids on the Block tunes at work. Aisen Caro Chacin’s invention may prove to be an acceptable alternative. Her tongue-controlled MP3 player uses the palate to carry sound to the ears…
Continue reading… “Play-a-Grill lets you hear music through your teeth”
The iKini
It is probably something of a niche market. But help is at hand for those fed up with their iPod running out of power when lazing about in a bikini. (Pics)
Continue reading… “iKini: The Solar-powered Bikini”
Skinny Player
This MP3 player is extremely rudimentary — it only has one button: a Play/Stop button. Yeah, this thing is more basic than an iPod shuffle. The Skinny Player, as it’s called isn’t powered by a battery though. It runs off of your body heat. (Pics)
Continue reading… “Skinny Player – MP3 Player Shaped Like a Band-Aid and Powered by Body Heat”
There are very few things this writer loves about France, but here are two: government-subsidized healthcare, and, now, government-subsidized music. That’s right, the country of Debussy and Gainsbourg will now (partially) pay for its young citizens’ digital music.
Continue reading… “France to Offer Government Subsidies for Music Purchased Online”
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZcgUEkBIX0[/youtube]
I-dosing – an alarming new trend among teens.
Kids around the country are getting high on the internet, thanks to MP3s that induce a state of ecstasy. And it could be a gateway drug leading teens to real-world narcotics. At least, that’s what Kansas News 9 is reporting about a phenomenon called “i-dosing,” which involves finding an online dealer who can hook you up with “digital drugs” that get you high through your headphones.
Continue reading… “I-dosing: Teens Getting High on Digital Drugs”
Can You Hear Me Now?
Needing assistance with your most basic of senses is never something anyone wants to advertise. Thus we’ve come up with handy ways of making them socially acceptable. Enough nerdy kids like myself needed glasses that they’ve become fashion accessories in and of themselves. And modern hearing aids usually focus on being tiny and out of sight. But Oticon out of Denmark has something new on the market. The Agil may not be the stealthiest of assistive listening devices, but it holds a new sound processing algorithm designed to reproduce sounds much more realistically.
This handy little things is designed to:
“Minimize the cognitive energy expended in typical listening environments without compromising sound quality and speech understanding.”
So what does that mean you ask?
Continue reading… “Forget Hearing Aids. Now We’re Talking About Brain Aids!”
Sony’s music player has beaten Dolby sound, compact discs and the ubiquitous iPod to surge to the top of the list of the “ten most important musical innovations of the last 50 years” published by T3 magazine. Its victory comes in the week that the Walkman celebrated its 30th birthday.
Continue reading… “Walkman Named Top Music Invention of Last 50 Years”
If you ever swim laps, you’ll know that it can be a pretty solitary experience. Sure, there may be other people around you, but most of the time you’re just alone with your thoughts as you plow up and down the pool. Continue reading… “AquaCube”
Sending text messages while driving can be dangerous, a perception that has now been borne out by the latest study.
Continue reading… “Texting While Driving Dangerous”
Pregnant mothers will soon be able to play their favourite songs to their unborn children with the invention of an MP3 players for babies.
Continue reading… “Blaby: MP3 Player For Your Unborn Baby”
A new incarnation of lithium-ion batteries based on solid polymers is in the works. Berkeley, CA-based startup Seeo, Inc. says its lithium-ion cells will be safer, longer-lasting, lighter, and cheaper than current batteries. Seeo’s batteries use thin films of polymer as the electrolyte and high-energy-density, light-weight electrodes. Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is now making and testing cells designed by the University of California, Berkeley spinoff.
Continue reading… “Cheaper And More Reliable Lithium-Ion Batteries”
