Water Bar: Just Looking at It Makes Me Want to Take a Leak [Not Your Average Bar]
Water Bar: Just Looking at It Makes Me Want to Take a Leak [Not Your Average Bar]
Imagine drinking copious amounts of alcohol, all while staring at this “waterfall” optical glass bar designed by Tokujin Yoshioka. You would be heading to the bathroom every 15 minutes. In reality though, no actual water is used. The effect is created using an optical glass block that is crafted in such a way that it gives the impression of flowing water. An interesting design concept for sure, but if I were a bar owner I would think twice about installing it. Water bills from frequent flushing can be a bitch. Additional image after the break.
[Tokujin Yoshioka via Yanko Design]
i-Snake Robot to Offer Slithering Assistance During Surgery [Medical Gadgets]
The i-Snake may sound like a cheap iPod peripheral, but it is actually the name of a revolutionary concept surgical robot, which hopes to advance keyhole surgery significantly. A team at Imperial College, London, has been awarded a £2.1 million ($4.2 million) grant to work on the device, which will be an elongated tube with a series of motors, sensors and imaging tools.
The boffins are confident the robot will be able to aid in general laparoscopic surgery, but the researchers are intending its use to be specially designed for heart bypass operations. The benefits of such procedures against traditional surgery are numerous; patients have a reduced recovery time and incisions are rarely sizable. Given the miniscule scale in which the i-Snake needs to function, it will be quite a feat to have a working model that packs in all the desired features, but if anyone can do it, a team of leading researchers with $4.2 million are probably the best chaps for the challenge. [BBC News]
iPod Box Has Absurd Note Inside, No iPod in Sight [Bad Christmas]
Picture this: daddy buys his daughter an iPod classic for Christmas. The elated teen opens the iPod box to find nothing but the ramblings of some douche who has read one of Oprah’s recommended self help books, and/or wears a Che Guevara styled military hat. Jump for the festive note:
“Reclaim your mind from the media shackles. Read a book and resurrect yourself. To claim your capitalistic garbage go to your nearest Apple Store.”
The device, which was purchased from WalMart, was taken back and a full refund given. WalMart claimed Apple were responsible for the mishap, though there is no word from Apple as yet. Either way, somewhere down the line, there is a great stinking dildo of a human being, replacing iPods with garbage ramblings. We understand he/she may have read a book, and thought they were rebelling against the system, but haven’t they seen the Apple ad? Think different, man. Think different. We dig you. Seriously though, if capitalism is really getting to you, why not up and leave? It’s the iPod we are really worried about. The poor thing is probably being tortured as we speak. Hang in there, buddy. Our fanboy love goes out to you. [TUAW]
New Leaked iPhone Firmware 1.1.3 Shows Faux GPS and Other Cool Stuff [Rumors]
Gearlive is showing off some convincing screenshots of the new iPhone firmware 1.1.3. Arn over at Macrumors thinks they seem like functions Apple would do, even if the features don’t line up with previous rumors:
* The ability to send an SMS message to multiple people is now there
* Google Maps application can now pinpoint your location using cell tower triangulation
* Google Maps can now display the Hybrid map view
* You can now drag and drop application icons on your home screen
* The home screen supports pagination
* You can now add web bookmarks to your home screen
The proof is in the screenshots, which there are a few of below, but many more at Gearlive for you to investigate. Do they look real to you? They look real to me. If so, glad Apple is moving things along, but you know, half of this functionality was done by the hackers already. [Gearlive via MacRumors]
Watermark Your Pics with PicMarkr [Image Editing]
Flickr’s a great place to share your digital photos, but if you’re concerned about others stealing your best work without crediting you, you might want to try watermarking your images. Webapp PicMarkr watermarks any selected Flickr pic or any image you upload from your desktop quickly and relatively painlessly, then lets you choose between uploading the results to Flickr or saving them to your computer. You’ll have to authorize the app with Flickr, and once you do you can browse Flickr sets, select pics to watermark, and choose from several different watermarking methods. Once you’re finished, you can upload the watermarked image to your Flickr account or save it to your computer. PicMarkr is a nice idea, but it’d make a lot more sense to see something like this integrated into Flickr’s new editing tools.