The highly anticipated iPhone stormed Apple stores nationwide yesterday evening relieving a frenzy of all night camping fanatics to their all mighty metal $600 phone. I’ve had my share of playing around with the mega sexy device, but thought I’d post a wonderful poster depicting Apples product evolution that perhaps gives insight to their next creations. Click on the picture above for the full matrix of products.
via tofslie (thanks gordon)

For all ya’ll designers out there that crop, chop, add, and retouch photos, please don’t make a huge mistake like this catalog (I think Victoria Secret) before it goes out for print, which it did. I’m thinking an extra (adams family) hand on a high end models shoulder is a bit creepy. Someones getting fired…. Click on thumbnail image for full size image.

via gigglesugar

Much like the visual information maps of non-metric countries, worldwide gasoline prices, or distributions of our taxes (death and taxes), comes another nifty map of our “Online Communities” such as Facebook, Myspace, Friendster, Xanga, Orkut, Second Life, and much more here or the above image!

via PopTech (source: xkcd.com)

WOW! Uniqlo Japan has a stunning video for their lineup of color parkas and a pretty sweet mixplay website to to browse through.

Watch their awesome mixplay video (have sound on)(gets really nice after 2:00) of 4 dancers bustin out some sweet robotica moves, mixed along with matrix-like slow motion moves, mashed up with great beats, locks, and freezes. Some may think the films been edited, but my guess is it’s real time and purely mad skillz! They held a live version during the holidays in one of their stores in Japan and someone made a remix of their original with a more upbeat tempo here.

I’ll post all 3 videos after the jump. (Have your sound on)

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Perhaps I’m a HEROES fan, but if I were to experience what’s shown in this video (click on picture), I’d be be stuck standing still thinking, woa! Check out this video with this kid and his mad skillz, and decide if he’s a geek, super-hero, then back to geek again. ( notice he reaches for more money at the end as if he didn’t beat the high score, even though the 3 digit score box looped around after 999)

If you’ve been yelling at your local gas pump prices, give a glimpse to this visual map of worldwide prices, though I’m not sure how up to date it is since it marks NY at $2.76. (last I checked it was around $4 near the city at least) I’m in Boston and prices are a bit under $3. Luckily I’m not suffering the crazy prices in London ($6.65) or Hong Kong ($6.30). Perhaps I’ll await my Prius, or hopes for a hybrid Nissan Cube (the Cube finally comes out to the US in 2008)

via jeans blog.
Click on Image to zoom in.

I’d consider myself a knowledgeable sushi addict-fanatic, but I was caught by surprise to learn– “good sushi are made from fish which is at least a few days old.” Woa, really? I’m one to rarely eat at sushi buffets or $1 sushi places open on Mondays, but I guess it’s a bit like a good aged steak, a bottle of aired wine, or the secret to really good Asian fried rice (it’s gotta be a day old).

If your a sushi fan curious to learn more about the wonderful world of sushi, give this article a glance or listen to a great interview(54 mins) with author (The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from Samurai to Supermarket) and foodie Trevor Corson.

Article after the jump.
Audio Interview here.
WiseBread Article via spluch
Picture above: sushi I ate in Portland ME.

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First came Jef Hans Multi-Touch screen a few years back, then came the over-marketed super hyped iPhone, followed by Jef’s bigger brother wall, then Microsoft launches a huge table sized Surface Computing idea, followed along with a hilarious parody of their surface table, and now this early developmental video of a multi-touch laptop which also has the same IR sensor as the super fun Nintendo Wii, that you can make at home. I wonder whats next.

I’m not a huge fan of touch sensors/screens when it comes to function…for the cool factor, yes I like it, and for the community multi-user reasons I love it, but when it comes down to one person using a touchscreen via a capacitor (the electronic component that detects touch) I’ve never fell in love with it. First off, if you have ever used a touch screen before on a remote or even on a laptop to turn up/down the volume, you’ll know instantly that there is no user feedback which us humans need. We can live without it, but it just isn’t as good, though there are some developments into piezo-electronic screens that vibrate once your finger does something.(The Wii vibrates when you hover over objects which is nice in the remote) Then there’s GelForce,a must watch (video demo) which is pretty fascinating technology because of the simple implementation and the scalability.(It’s incredible to play with)

I’ll post all the videos of each technology after the jump.
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“Kiva lets you connect with and loan money to unique small businesses in the developing world. By choosing a business on Kiva.org, you can “sponsor a business” and help the world’s working poor make great strides towards economic independence. Throughout the course of the loan (usually 6-12 months), you can receive email journal updates from the business you’ve sponsored. As loans are repaid, you get your loan money back.”

I’m not one to usually seek into these money gathering foundations but I have a few friends who can’t stop talking about how successful, exciting, professional, and rewarding Kiva is. Having the friends approval, a great NewYorkTimes video review, many other press reviews, and over 70,000 people loaning over 7 million dollars so far, I think I’m sparked to make some needed loans.(as little as $25) The money may not be an investment for more money, but the reward is more than money could buy.

Learn more about Kiva.org, browse through their business listings, check out their blog, and join the club.

What happens when a mayor decides to ban advertisements in a vibrant city of 11 million people with more than 8,000 billboards? Impossible, insane, absurd, or just plain genius? Well this is what happened this past January when mayor Gilberto Kassabs “Clean City” law was introduced in Sao Paulo Brazil banning any form of advertising throughout the city to rid of “visual clutter”. (reminds me of the “advertising is graffiti” stunt, or my dislike for posters in Milan)

I’ve always wondered what an ad-free environment would be like, how a persons behavior would change, or what a city’s culture and personality would become. I’m not sure how long this law will last, but for a huge city, its a definite moment to figure out the overall affects of ads in our spaces for the good or worse. The results have been surprisingly uplifting, peaceful, educational, and positive. As much as I hate and love the art of advertising, I must admit I can’t live without it, but then again, I’ve never lived in such an environment.

Read two articles by BusinessWeek and NPR(with a MP3 interview) then skip on over to photographer Tony de Marcos Flickr set of the changing cityscape, with insightful comments here.

I’ll post the articles with the MP3 interview and some pictures after the jump.

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