WriteRoom Distraction-Free Writing

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write-room

The computer has evolved and improved a tremendously long way since the green-and-black monochrome era, but your attention span and concentration  has not. At least that’s the premise of this interesting software called “WriteRoom” by Hog Bay Software.

For Mac users who enjoy the simplicity of a typewriter, but live in the digital world. WriteRoom is a full-screen, distraction-free writing environment. Unlike the cluttered word processors you’re used to, WriteRoom is just about you and your text. Requires Mac OS X 10.4 or later.

They have basically simplified the  interface of the word processor to basically nothing except the text – so you don’t get distracted by your email, instant messaging or what have you. You can even take out parts of text from a Word document, and edit them in WriteRoom instead. When you’re done, you can close it and the program automatically ports it back to the original file.

Ironically, it requires MacOS 10.4 or later to run. But, for all you Dan Brown and Rowling wannabes, maybe shelling $24.95 for what is essentially simply a full-screen notepad is a worthy investment: after all, in the case that you DO sit down AND are able to concentrate because of this little software, AND if your writing is so great, AND if there’s a publisher who thinks the same, AND if your books sell – you may just get your investment returned many times over.

Monster Portable Power Strip

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monster-portable-outlet

You know what it’s like, shopping for a power strip. A whole bunch of them would lie around, and the decision process goes something like this: decide on the number of ports, and choose the cheapest one that doesn’t look like it’d explode immediately on use. So it’s pretty refreshing to see this Monster “Power to Go” being the focus product re-designing for mobility – it is compact enough to fit in a typical laptop bag. The somewhat over-the-top illustration of product benefit:

If there is one thing more frustrating than checking into a hotel after a long day, searching for AC outlets and then finding just one lone socket at the base of a lamp, it’s the anxiety of not knowing if this will happen tonight! Now with Outlets To Go you will always have enough outlets–consistently, confidently, and very elegantly.

One of the first things to notice is the absence of the clumsy coils of cable: a short, and more importantly, flat cable going around the body, with its flat-profiled plug fitting into one of the ports. One thing that may not be apparent: this power strip actually has SIX outlets – there are three on each sides. I’m naturally led to wonder about its thickness – but (cleverly?) I haven’t come across a side profile of this on its website.

Another issue raises my eyebrow – from its own product feature list: “Outlets to Go will provide safe charging for up to four devices, and prevents overloads with its resettable circuit breaker”. So, why do they have six outlets when you can only safely use four?

 

Design your own Onitsuka Tiger

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onitsuka-tiger

This is for those of you who’re into graphics and sneakers – and are in Singapore! Runner’s World is hosting a design competition for the Tiger –

DETAILS

  1. Shoes available at: StarThreeSixty – Wheelock Place #02-08; LeftFoot – Far East Plaza #03-98; Limited Edition Vault – The Heeren #03-12. Submission of customized shoes only at StarThreeSixty.
  2. Last day of submission 10th Feb 07.
  3. Shoes to be purchased at S$149. Full refund after submission of entries.
  4. Selected entries will be awarded an Onitsuka Tiger product hamper and in the running for the Top 3 prizes.
  5. Top 3 winners will be announced at event at zouk on Friday, 23rd Feb 07.
  6. Runner’s World Pte Ltd reserves all rights to the submitted entries.
  7. 1st Prize: $1000 + S$500 Onitsuka Vouchers; 2nd Prize – S$500 cash + S$300 Onitsuka Tiger Voucher; 3rd Prize – S$300 cash + S$200 Onitsuka Tiger Voucher.

This reminded me of a time when I was in Milan – there was a similar competition by Havaianas – to turn their trademark slippers into works of art. A group of us each took the blank white slippers, while concocting the things we can do to them. In the end, only one of us submitted though – procrastination got the better of us. Which is probably why Rule 3 exists.

 

The Weight of Internet

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Patch Panel

A statistically rough ( one sigma) estimate might be 75-100 million servers @ ~350-550 watts each.. Call it Forty Billion Watts or ~ 40 GW. Since silicon logic runs at three volts or so, and an Ampere is some ten to the eighteenth electrons a second, if the average chip runs at a Gigahertz , straightforward calculation reveals that some 50 grams of electrons in motion make up the Internet.

That, and many other interesting calculations, are explored in this quirky, if cynically eloquent written article by Russell Seitz. Like, the average human brains (rated at 20W) has about 6W of computing power at its disposal. Or that on average, a US home still needs four miles of copper wire to connect to the information grid. And that, to power those 50 grams of electrons that powers the Internet, we need 50 million horsepower.

An amusing take on the Internet – it is quite amazing to think that this substance-less (save two ounces) medium create real companies, wealth and growth to nations. While previously, you may have to own tonnes of ores, or a large energy-guzzling mining factory, or vast lands and plantations to create wealth. In this age, all you might need is just 2 horsepower and maybe 10 nano-grams of electrons.

Prince of Persia – Real Life Version

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You may remember a game called the Prince of Persia – it was a pioneer in the style of gaming – where the main character (a prince from Persia, of course!) has to use a series of incredibly acrobatic maneuvers to get around obstacles, dodge traps, and fight enemies to get to his princess.

Well, here’s a clip of Makoto Nagano, a contestant in a Japanese show aptly called Ninja Warrior, or Sasuke in Japanese. A fisherman, Nagano is only the second man to have cleared all 4 stages of this insane obstacle course. R-E-S-P-E-C-T!

Impossible Structure

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impossible-structure

We’ve seen these optical illusions a lot – they’re usually drawn because that’s what they are – just illusions in the 2d world, making you think that an impossible structure was created in a 3D space. Now, what about this one? And what if I say there was no Photoshop involved? How can it be done?

 

An Ant and An Astounding Act

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ant-with-chip

In my line of work as a product designer, I often have to deal with gaps and distances that are smaller than 1mm – as much as it may seem diminutive, they really do make a difference in certain applications – like the clearance between the buttons and the main housings, the fit between parts, etc. When dealing in 3d files, tolerances often go to 3 or 4 decimal places of a millimeter for it to work properly.

But that, to a chip engineer, is probably like a blue whale to a mouse. As electronic product races to be smaller and more powerful, they’d have to device ways to lay circuits and build paths around a tiny piece of real estate. And though we do hear a lot about nanotechnology and how it may change the future of production and medicine, sometimes a sense of perspective and scale would be in order to really grasp the “tiny-ness” of it all.

The ant in the picture is holding a IC chip in its mandibles – the chip is just 1mm x 1mm. That would really put some perspective into the scheme of things!

 

3D Face Morphing

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From what it describes, it seems like the software is capable of constructing/modifying face features on the fly, based on its database of previously entered 3D face models. That isn’t all that new – it’s like a Poser for face. What’s really cool, however, is the ability to churn out usable 3D face models just from a picture alone – that’d really have some tremendous vanity applications, like putting yourself as a full-featured main character from Final Fantasy, or *gasp* a realistic Sims avatar. This is certainly one-up compared to the typical “paste-a-2D-face-picture-into-that-oval-shape-head” thing that some games currently use.

Anna Gram – “Ceramic for Mix”

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anna_gram_ceramic_for_mix

The name of this object  “Ceramic for Mix” doesn’t quite exactly illuminate its function, though it certainly hints at it. At first look I didn’t get what was it – but after I do, I liked the slightly-whimsical but interesting execution:

The ball is put into a glass built with special shapes. Then we have to pour some infused tea into it for example: the liquid pushes the ball, and invites users to move it by moving the glass. The ceramic ball comes to mix all various sugars, ringing the glass at the same time. When we drink, this ball is blocked by the gravity in the recess of the glass, moreover than its shape is too big to be ingested.

Ah, so that’s what the doughnut at the base is for! While I accept the fact that gravity would trap the ceramic ball rather than to flow into your throat, I wonder about the “ring tone” with the ball. The ball is sunk in the liquid loop – probably rather heavy – would it be able to drift around the glass and make those clanking sounds that we’ve come to associate with merrymaking?

[from Anna Gram]