Shiny new Apple gadgets are revealed regularly and each time that happens we rush to a store and go through the same cycle of reactions. Drool. Love. Hate. Love. Drool again. This is what owning Apple products is like.

Reprinted with permission from Matthew Inman aka “The Oatmeal,” a former web designer turned comic artist. You can see more of his work on The Oatmeal. Matthew is a one man operation, so be sure to check out posters and prints from his shop.

Oh, and if you’re looking for a way to pass the time while waiting for the next shiny gadget, Matthew wants you to know that his comic about how everything goes to hell during a zombie apocalypse is a good—albeit somewhat vulgar—read:

The author of this post can be contacted at tips@gizmodo.com

This concept from over at Yanko Design would charge batteries using a traditional jump rope action. Also, your self-respect. Start practicing!

The charging mechanism would be placed in the handles, with the charging itself taken care of by the spinning rope. Just a few hundred hops, or 20 minutes worth, will charge the batteries 100%. Whether you’ll have the energy required to do whatever it is you were trying to use after your marathon charging session is a question best left unasked of this concept. [Yanko Design via Technabob]

How does Google keep its employees fresh for long days and nights of working? With sleep pods.

FT reporter Richard Waters was in Google’s Mountain View headquarters yesterday and snapped this photo of an anonymous Googler catching some rest. When Richard walked past the pod later, he said a pair of female legs were sticking out from the pod.
This contraption is a MetroNap EnergyPod. Metronap says it “harnesses science and NASA technology” to deliver a refreshing nap for users.

On its site, Metronap says, “Occupants are reclined into the optimal napping position to promote blood circulation and reduce pressure on the lower back and ambient sounds help nappers drift into light sleep.”

When it’s time to wake up, the EnergyPod delivers a light vibration.

There are plenty of technical hurdles keeping the masses from decking out their roofs with solar panels, but their general ugliness doesn’t help much either. Tegolasolare puts their photovoltaic panels second to the surrounding architecture, not the other way around.

The Italian company’s red clay roof tiles look just like traditional terracotta and incorporate photovoltaic panels, as opposed to merely accommodating them. It’s a perfect example of how forward-looking, sustainable technology can exist in harmony with traditional architecture.

Of course, lose the drab solar roof look and you lose your eco-savvy neighbor visibility along with it, and really, what fun is having an Earth-saving roof if it looks just like your regular old one? [Tegolasolare via 3 Rings and Solar Lighting via NotCot]

A yottabyte is one septillion bytes. To save all those bytes you need a data center as big as the states of Delaware and Rhode Island. It doesn’t seem like much, until they tell you the price tag: $100 trillion.

How much is $100 trillion? Too much to imagine but ,to give you some sense of scale, the gross domestic product for the United States was $14 trillion in 2008. The word GDP: $61 trillion. And yet, one day we will look back at this figures and shrug, as we order a 4 yottabyte memory card to save a few hours of our life with our 5-senses brain impulse recording device. For $19.99. [Backblaze]

Apple’s claiming that the iPhone 4 represents the platform’s biggest advance since the original model’s intro back in 2007 — but does the argument hold water? Follow the break for a comprehensive rundown of the key differences between the newest member of the iPhone model and last year’s king of the hill, the 3GS!

iPhone 4

iPhone 3GS

Apple has unveiled its new iPhone 4 after a couple wild, unprecedented months of leaks. Sure, it looks exactly like we expected it to (Steve compares it to an old Leica camera), with a glass front and back, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts, kids. The stainless steel band that goes around the phone is an antenna system, while also providing the main structure of the phone, though it’s plugged into the same old GSM / UMTS radio you all know and love — there’s a reason they didn’t call it the iPhone 4G. There’s also of course that front facing camera we were all anticipating, a rear camera with LED flash, and a new high resolution display that doubles the pixels in each direction (960 x 640) for a 4X overall pixel count increase — Apple calls it a “Retina Display.” It’s rated at 326ppi, which Apple claims is beyond the human eye’s limit of distinction. Check out an example of the new screen up against the iPhone 3G after the break. Similar to the iPad, it’s an IPS display, offering 800:1 contrast. Naturally, it’s still the same old 3.5-inch size. Under the hood is the A4 processor that runs the iPad. Despite the new engine (and the 25% thinner chassis), Apple managed to make the battery slightly larger, and the new handset is rated at 7 hours of 3G talk, 6 hours of 3G browsing, 10 hours of WiFi browsing, 10 hours of video, and 40 hours of music. Oh, and that WiFi? It’s 802.11n now. The camera has been bumped to 5 megapixels, with 5X digital zoom and a “backside illuminated sensor,” which now can also record HD video at 720p / 30fps.

On the software front, applications will automatically get high resolution text and buttons as part of iOS 4 (the OS previously known as iPhone OS 4), and with “a little bit of work” developers can make their entire app compatible with the new resolution display. Developers will also get access to a new gyroscope, giving devs “six axis” motion control between the gyroscope, accelerometer, and compass, with a new “Core Motion” API to deal with it all. Users won’t be left out in the cold, however: they can mess around with that new HD video using a brand new iMovie app, if they shell out $4.99 for it. If anyone’s feeling particularly frisky, iOS 4 even lets you switch your default search provider to Bing. Last but certainly not least, that new front camera is enabled for video chat using the new “FaceTime” feature. It’s a WiFi-only (for now) video calling feature that works from iPhone 4 to iPhone 4 with “no setup” involved, and can flip over to the rear camera if your grandparents get tired of your face.

The phone will be available in white or black, retailing at $199 for the 16GB model and $299 for 32GB. They go on sale June 24th, and AT&T will be giving some extra grace upgrade timing — up to six months early. The 3GS will be dropped to $99 and the 3G will disappear completely. Pre-orders start in a week, with 5 countries at launch (US, France, Germany, UK, Japan), with 18 more following in July. Apple will also be selling a first party case for $29, and a dock for the same price.

SOURCE: ENGADGET

It’s by no means a new debate, but it remains an important one, and today the Wall Street Journal tackles the issue with a pair of essays on what exactly the internet’s doing to our noggins. So, which is it?

Smarter
Clay Shirky, author of Cognitive Surplus: Creativity and Generosity in a Connected Age, holds down the pro-internet side with “Does the Internet Make You Smarter?” He compares the advent of the internet to that of movable type, which initially made for a flood of amateur literature but ultimately had “the effect of increasing, rather than decreasing, the intellectual range and output of society.”

He envisions the internet as a huge scale version of scientific peer review, in which resources like Wikipedia give individuals a productive outlet for their free time. Of course, Shirky admits, watching Scarlet take a tumble on YouTube isn’t exactly a picture of high-tech enlightenment, but the internet is a new resource and now comes the part where we figure out how we can use it to make the world a better place.

Ultimately, Shirky thinks the web “will fuel the intellectual achievements of 21st-century society,” having diverted young people away from the TV and onto a medium where reading and writing are essential. Eventually, the “throwaway” material of the internet will get thrown away and the collaborative and imaginative potential of the web will be realized.

Stupider
Nicholas Carr*, perennial “the Internet is making us stupider” essay writer, offers the counterpoint with “Does the Internet Make Us Dumber?” He contends that the surplus of information on the internet is just that, a surplus, and sees this abundance turning us into a class of “scattered and superficial thinkers.”

But Carr’s notion of the internet as a detrimental influence isn’t just informed by his own experience; he cites a growing body of scientific work to prove his point. A study conducted at Cornell University reveals that while some facilities like spatial intelligence are boosted by internet use, “new weaknesses in higher-order cognitive processes,” such as “abstract vocabulary, mindfulness, reflection, inductive problem solving, critical thinking, and imagination” are emerging, according to one researcher.

What it boils down to for Carr is that reading books builds a sort of mental discipline that is extremely valuable for our naturally inattentive minds. The internet thrives on and reinforces those tendencies towards inattention, he explains, and he’s worried that the next generation might not have the patience to pull themselves out of the web’s swamp of distractions, or worse yet, might not even see the point in doing so.

My Take?
Carr’s right. I skimmed both articles. I am finding, though, that the iPad (and it’s forced unitasking) offers a nice calm place to take in sights and sounds of the internet, one at a time, without the Growl growling at me every five seconds. I wouldn’t quite say it’s my digital Walden, but it’s the closest thing to it I’ve come across lately.

For those interested in reading further, this month’s issue of Wired has more in-depth pieces from both Shirky and Carr on where they see the internet taking us. You can read ‘em all distracted-like on Wired’s site or go buy the magazine and start disciplining that mushy brain of yours. [WSJ 1, WSJ 2]

*Read an excellent excerpt of Nick Carr’s book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing To Our Brain

Designer: Hiromi Kiriki

More Details here (in Spanish).

Designer: Abel Verdezoto I.

Here it is. The “Graphic Designer’s Clock” as designed by Nurcan Durmaz. this is a fun little number that tells you what simple movement to do at what time of the day. One exercise every 20 minutes. What a gem!

Designer: Nurcan Durmaz

Designer: Ashley Legg

Designer: Dragan Trencevski

As Russell notes, the perforations are evident in the newish Apple Macbook Pro, which has the “no-light-when-off” but “shiny loveliness when turned on” features that we all know and love. This is used on the cycle to display gauges and GPS systems on the gas tank surface. In a similar move, the perforated aluminum behind the seat hide and reveal the tail lights and turning signals.

Non skid treads. Enlarged V-Twin engine, hidden battery and oil tank. Such a lovely chrome “picture frame” for the engine this doth make. Gas tank, airbox, oil tank, and battery all located inside the tank area.

Wrapped two to one exhaust. Perimeter breaks for ultra-stopping.

Due to the long history of flat track racing Harley’s got and the designer wanted to represent, this motorcycle’s got such a power to weight ratio as to rip it up with extreme speed on roads across the country.

Comfortable, aggressive, fabulous.

Designer: Jonathan Russell

Freshly laundered and added to the Google store, these hoody sweatshirts cost just $41.75 and come with—drum roll please—A GMAIL LOGO. [Google Store via Gmail Blog - Thanks, Brian!]

The Commodore Invictus is picking a fight with the Asus Eee Keyboard for supremacy in the PC-in-a-keyboard with a touchscreen-on-the-side category, and with the specs Commodore is listing, it may just win. Well, if it ever releases.

Compare the Commodus Invictus’ 1.6Ghz Intel Atom 330 processor, up to 4GB RAM, 250GB HDD, nVIDIA GeoForce 9400, 802.11n, and HDMI out against the Asus Eee Keyboard’s Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, 16GB or 32GB SSD and the same 802.11n and HDMI out, and it looks like the Invictus squeaks out a victory. The Invictus will also run Windows 7 vs the Eee Keyboard’s XP, so there’s that. But the Invictus has a resistive touchscreen versus the Eee Keyboard’s capacitive. Ew.

The Commodore website doesn’t list a release date, so this could be vaporware at its finest, but if and when the Invictus does release, the PC-in-a-keyboard war is so on. [Commodore]

DNA-based logic gates that could carry out calculations inside the body have been constructed for the first time. The work brings the prospect of injectable biocomputers programmed to target diseases as they arise.

“The biocomputer would sense biomarkers and immediately react by releasing counter-agents for the disease,” says Itamar Willner of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel, who led the work.

The new logic gates are formed from short strands of DNA and their complementary strands, which in conjunction with some simple molecular machinery mimic their electronic equivalent. Two strands act as the input: each represents a 1 when present or a 0 when absent. The response to their presence or absence represents the output, which can also be a 1 or 0.

Take the “exclusive OR” or XOR logic gate. It produces an output when either of the two inputs is present but not when both are present or both are absent. To put the DNA version to the test, Willner and his team added molecules to both the complementary strands that caused them to fluoresce when each was present in isolation, representing a logical 1 as the output. But when both were present, the complementary strands combined and quenched the fluorescence, representing a 0 output.

Simultaneous calculations

One of DNA computing’s advantages is that it allows calculations to be carried out in parallel, if different types of logic gates are represented by different ingredients. The team tested this process by tossing the XOR ingredients into a test tube, along with those for two other gates, to produce the first few steps involved in binary addition and subtraction.

The team was also able to create logic gates that calculate in sequence. The trick here is to make the output from the first gate a new DNA string that can be used as the input for a second gate and so on. Such “cascading gates” allow for more complex calculations: the entire set of steps required for addition and subtraction, for example, or to deliver a multi-step drug treatment.

Previous DNA-based computers tended to slow down at each step as the DNA strands were used only once, and so became depleted with time. One significant advance claimed by Willner and his team is that their DNA strands reform after each step, allowing long sequences of calculations to be carried out easily for the first time.

Even a single logic gate could have useful medical applications, Willner says. His group built and tested a gate designed to reduce the activity of the blood-clotting enzyme thrombin, which can lead to brain damage following a head injury. The gate acts as a switch that is triggered by the presence of thrombin. Part of the gate consists of a DNA strand connected to a molecule that binds to thrombin. If thrombin is present, this molecule is released, otherwise it stays bound and inert. Such a smart drug could be injected into the bloodstream in advance and would only switch on when needed (Nature Nanotechnology, DOI: 10.1038/nnano.2010.88).

Another problem with earlier DNA computers is that they use enzymes to manipulate the DNA, and so function only in certain chemical environments that cannot easily be reproduced inside the body. Willner’s team use DNA-like molecules to do this job.

“Being enzyme-free, it has potential in future diagnostic and medical applications,” says Benny Gil of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. He is impressed with the new gate system but recognises that it will take years of research and development to bring “smart drugs” to medicine.

Image by Sven Geier

New Scientist reports, explores and interprets the results of human endeavour set in the context of society and culture, providing comprehensive coverage of science and technology news.

With so much time spent in front a computer, your workstation becomes a big part of your life. Some people go for straight out luxury for work or play. Others people are more concerned with gaming or home theaters, while others need a space-saving workstation. Here are 16 high-tech workstations, or design concept workstations, to enhance your working or playing computer experience.

Globus Workstation

(image credits: The Design Blog)

Globus is a molded plastic globe on wheels. It opens to provide seating space in one half and a small adjustable table that functions as a worktable in the other half. The Globus space-saving workstation was meant for small home or office spaces. This workstation comes in a variety of colors.

Coffee Office Workstation

(image credits: dvice)

The Coffee Office workstation might make your cramped cubicle at work seem downright roomy. Designed in the shape of a coffee mug, the inside houses a touchscreen computer, space for your laptop, built-in speaker, and a spot for coffee. This workstation concept is aimed at 2020 when work spaces will be even more crowded. Designer Lucas Vieira intends for these workstations to be located in places with a large influx of businessmen and executives.

Flower Bud Workstation

(image credits: tuvie)

This Flower Bud workstation design concept is aimed at any age and any gender. Designer Won Shik Yu intends to offer comfort and privacy with this adjustable workstation. Both sections slide together into a condensed shell when this workstation environment is not in use.

Corner V1 Workstation

(image credits: Born Rich)

The Vision One (V1) workstation is intended to improve music, gaming, home theater, and working experience. The feet and elbow supports pivot. This adjustable workstation comes in a variety of colors and other upgrades. The most popular upgrade is to a Porsche seat that can have up to 12 functions including power lumbar controls and heat.

Mac-Powered Organic Workstation

(image credits: Teche Blog)

If clutter annoys you, then perhaps you might like the Mac-Powered Organic Workstation? With ergonomics in mind, it features an adjustable seat, monitor, and keyboard for increased productivity. There’s no room to have a messy or unorganized desk with this workstation.

Walkstation : WorkSpace Treadmill

(image credits: Born Rich)

If comfy seats are not for you, then perhaps you would like to burn off fat as you work? The Walkstation offers an electric height-adjustable worksurface along with a low-speed treadmill. Few workstations offer the opportunity to stay fit while you work. However, it would make gaming a real challenge.

Rizki Tarisa’s Go Workstation

(image credits: techfemina)

Rizki Tarisa’s Go workstation is a design concept all about the chair. A winner of the Ideation Award 2010, this multi-functional chair harnesses human pedal-power to juice up electronic devices. This concept furniture is a lounge chair, an exercise bike, a workstation, and a desktop, all integrated in a single unit.  The user generates green energy by pedaling the bike.

Young Explorer Workstation

(image credits: dvice)

Young Explorer workstation by Little Tikes could be baby’s first workstation . . . if you cough up $2,600 and want your baby to experience cubicle life. It comes with a 160GB hard drive, a 19-inch screen, and even Internet connection capabilities. The computer goes in the back and blinder-like wings might improve focus and productivity like a tiny cubicle for a child. The keyboard, mouse, and pre-loaded software are supposed to be kid friendly and durable.

Study Bed Workstation

The Study Bed is aimed at dorm students with limited space. It converts from a workstation desk to a bed. It comes as either a single, double, or king size Murphy bed style. When sleeping, the computer is under the bed at floor level. This bed/desk workstation combo costs about $1,859 with no upgraded color or wood options.

Battle-Rig Pro

(image credits: Born Rich)

The Battle-Rig Pro can be a workstation or slick setup for gamers. With the user centered right in the middle, everything is within easy reach. It comes in a variety of colors and the compartments can be a customized. If ever it would need moved, it breaks down into three pieces for transport.

Supine Workstation

(image credits: coroflot)

Designer Alan Harp created this concept workstation for computer users who suffer from neck strain. The Supine Workstation allows the user to easily move from a upright to a supine position by simply shifting their weight in the direction desired.

MIW: My Individual Workstation

(image credits: The Design Blog)

My Individual Workstation (MIW) by designer Zeynep Altmisoglu is inspired by a desire to fulfill the “the needs of the industrial product design students.” Her next-gen workstation concept has been designed to provide multiple work surfaces for the industrial product design students. It is Bluetooth enabled so the student can present his project from the ease of this chair. The wheels make it transportable and it can be used for drawing, lounging, or splitting the seat in two for student and professor.

Office Organix ErgoQuest 500

(image credits: Born Rich)

Are there days when you need to work but don’t wish to get out of bed? If so, then the ErgoQuest workstation might be worth considering. The height adjustable workstation is designed for standing, seated, or supine work positions. The work surface has a motorized monitor tilt platform, keyboard tray and arm which allows the tray to tilt through 90°. It provides a range of positions for use in a reclined mode. The table holds up to 400 pounds of equipment from 31° to 50° angles with the push of a button.

Aura Workstation

(image credits: Born Rich)

The Aura workstation provides luxury for the user. Aura offers a 7-way adjustable seating system with inflatable and deflatable cushions, an electronically filtered air-flow atmosphere, a lighting system that reduces eye stain, and a rotation feature that avoids glare. Aura can be programmed to rotate 120° over eight hours.

Gravitonus Workstation

(image credits: gravitonus)

The Gravitonus workstation keeps the user in the most ergonomically optimized position at all times. It features three displays, built-in LED lighting, air conditioning, as well as zone heating of the user’s body. It also has a 5.1 sound system and a subwoofer integrated into the seat back to add a sensation effect. It can be adapted for quadriplegics so that a control unit is placed in the mouth, allowing for breathing, drinking, talking, smoking, and controlling. The price tag is $7,000.

The Emperor Workstation

(image credits: novelquest)

The king of luxury workstations is by far The Emperor 200. Unless nature calls, you would never need to leave this workstation.  The Emperor comes with reclining Recaro seats, three 19 inch monitors, HEPA filters, touchscreen controls, a web cam, and optional PS3.  It rotates 360°, has LED lighting, and a BOSE 5.1 surround sound system. If you aren’t sitting, please do so before sticker shock knocks you down. The Emperor 200 costs $39,950.

SOURCE: [WebUrbanist]

It’s a monster!
It’s a bike! It’s monsterbike! And it can destroy any bicycles that it
encounters. And most cars too. [LikeCool]

Clearly, this is a map of the Midwest. But what exactly is it showing us? Localized population densities? A hellmouth opening just south of La Crosse? Warning: The real answer might bug you out.

It’s a radar image, sure. A radar image of the millions of swarming mayflies taking over Wisconsin:

A mayfly hatch along the Mississippi River was caught on Doppler radar out of NWS La Crosse this evening. The radar view below shows an image at 9:13 p.m. CDT on Saturday, May 29, 2010. The bugs are showing up as bright pink, purple, and white colors along the Mississippi River mainly south of La Crosse, WI. After the bugs hatch off the water and river areas, they are caught in the south-southeast winds while airborne for about 10-20 minutes.

That. Is. Gross. [NOAA via Neatorama]